GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Fotodotis Malamas, Bernitsas
estate despite the will of the deceased, and they have all the duties and rights of heirs. 2.4 Marital Property Future spouses can enter into an agreement regulating their choice of system for the community of property and can even stipulate which assets will be included in the common property, if they so wish. If the spouses are unable to reach an agreement, the property self-sufficiency system with a claim for par - ticipation in acquisitions will come into force. Only when one spouse mandates the other to admin - ister their communal assets must both spouses cat - egorically agree that the rules of the Greek Civil Code will not come into force. 2.5 Transfer of Property The value of transferred property must be assessed by either an independent asset valuer or the tax authori - ties. This valuation may be used in the future as the cost basis of the property being transferred. 2.6 Transfer of Assets: Vehicle and Planning Mechanisms There are no favourable tax provisions for the transfer of assets to the next generation that facilitate tax-free transactions. However, for assets valued at less than EUR800,000, a donation (gift) to first-class relatives (spouse, children or grandchildren) does not give rise to tax implications. Tax incentive laws governing the transformation or merger of legal persons or entities may also be used for the transition of assets from one generation to the next. 2.7 Transfer of Assets: Digital Assets The Inheritance and Gift Tax Law (IGTL) does not regulate the taxation of digital assets or tokenised assets for the purposes of succession. Nevertheless, it appears that cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, may be treated as deposits in foreign currency subject to inheritance tax, or as investments in foreign currency. The Dispute Resolution Committee (an Administrative Committee examining the quasi-judicial recourses filed by taxpayers) held that: “income from the trans - fer of cryptocurrencies abroad does not fall under the
provisions of the Income Tax Code that provide for, and exhaustively list, the securities from the transfer of which goodwill derives.” Furthermore, the same Committee held, in the context of a VAT case, that the cryptocurrencies in respect of which the taxpayer stated that it provided exchange services were not legal means of payment. In this regard, any commission fees paid to the bureau de change are subject to VAT at the ordinary rate (cur - rently 24%). Moreover, websites or domain names may be treated as movable assets subject to inheritance tax, and their market value may be assessed by an independent valuer in order to provide supportive documentation to the tax authorities for their tax base. By way of Law 5193/2025, the provisions supple - menting Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR)) and Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 (the Transfer of Funds Regulation II (TFR II)) were introduced into domestic legislation. The enactment of Law 5193/2025 enables crypto- asset service providers to validly offer their services in Greece under MiCAR. Furthermore, by way of Deci - sion No 245/2/02.09.2025 (Government Gazette B’ 4770/08-09-2025), the Executive Committee of the Bank of Greece adopted the Guidelines of the Joint Committee of European Supervisory Authorities on templates for explanations and opinions, as well as the standardised review of crypto-assets, pursuant to Article 97 (1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (JC 2024 28). 3. Trusts, Foundations and Similar Entities 3.1 Types of Trusts, Foundations or Similar Entities Entities that can be used for tax planning are usually charitable foundations and, in the case of inheritance, a substitution in trust, whereby a testator may impose on an heir the obligation to transfer to another benefi - ciary the inheritance, or a portion thereof, which the heir has acquired upon the occurrence of a specified event or at a specified time.
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