The Finance Ministry has received a legal opinion confirming that changes to tax rates can be implemented from 1 January 2026, even if the bills are passed during the course of next year.
This effectively overturns the government’s original timetable for approving its long-awaited tax reform. The most likely scenario now is that parliamentary debate on the six bills will begin in January, or at the latest in February.
The shift emerged during a meeting on Tuesday afternoon at the Presidential Palace between government party officials and state representatives. Party delegates once again raised concerns about the limited time left before Parliament closes for the Christmas holidays and the parallel examination of the state budget by the Finance Committee.
Sources told Politis that the government showed understanding of these tight deadlines and is already considering a postponement in the vote on the tax reform package. Similar concerns reportedly exist within the Finance Ministry itself, which has the Legal Service’s opinion as a safeguard: rate changes can still take effect on 1 January 2026, even if approval comes later in the year.
The meeting also revealed consensus that the six bills should be discussed as a single package in Parliament, to avoid piecemeal debates that could create confusion. In mid-September, the government and the Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB) had already agreed that the reform should not be broken up.
Until recently, President Nikos Christodoulides had publicly insisted that implementing the tax reform on 1 January 2025 was a firm government commitment. He urged parties not to unravel the plan and to exercise restraint in introducing amendments that could destabilize the economy.
However, delays in drafting the bills and conducting public consultation have upended that initial plan. On 2 October the Cabinet will approve the state budget, which will be formally presented to Parliament by the finance minister on 13 October. The chair of the Finance Committee has already informed the minister that two weekly sessions have been scheduled specifically for budget discussions, leaving no room this year to begin debating the tax reform bills.
