Greece is among the southern European countries and the wider Mediterranean region- others including Cyprus, Italy, and Tunisia – luring French retirees with lucrative tax measures, French newspaper Le Figaro reports.
The number of French pensioners opting to live abroad has doubled over the past decade, surpassing one million, according to the French publication.
Greece, Le Figaro notes, is capturing the attention of retirees with a unified tax rate of 7% offered for 15 years to those establishing their tax residence there.
“The logic is very simple. We want retirees to settle here; we have a beautiful country, a very good climate, so why not?” explains Athena Kalyva, Head of Tax Policy at the Greek Ministry of Finance. She emphasizes that to benefit from this system, one does not need to acquire property in Greece; it is sufficient to reside there for 183 days a year and belong to a country that has signed a bilateral tax agreement with Greece, as is the case with France.
In the case of Cyprus, it is reported that, according to the Franco-Cypriot tax treaty of December 18, 1981, French retirees are not taxed in France but in Cyprus if they decide to establish their residence there. The taxation is favorable, with pensions exempt up to €3,420 per tax year, and beyond that, they are taxed at only 5%. Additionally, Cyprus does not impose property or inheritance taxes, concludes Le Figaro.
