How much are civil servants’ salaries and pensions increasing from January 1, 2023 – Tables

By Prokopi Hadjinikolou

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis put an end to the solidarity levy for all taxpayers yesterday. From the new year, both public sector employees and pensioners will no longer pay the solidarity levy, which has been suspended for private sector employees since 2021.

The solidarity levy was established by article 29 of Law 3986/2011 on incomes over 12,000 euros of natural persons and which should have been abolished at the end of 2014, as it was established as an extraordinary memorandum measure. The abolition of the solidarity levy means that around 500,000 public sector employees and pensioners with incomes of more than 12,000 euros will see an increase in their wages that start at 22 euros and even exceed 676 euros a year for certain categories of civil servants.

For example, for an income of 13,000 euros, i.e. for a net monthly salary of 1,083 euros, the annual benefit will be 22 euros per year or 1.83 euros per month, for an income of 15,000 euros or 1,250 euros per month the benefit will be 66 euros per year or 5.5 euros per month, for an income of 18,000 euros or 1,500 euros per month the annual profit will be 132 euros. For an income of 30,000 euros or net monthly earnings of 2,500 euros the profit is 676 euros per year or 56.3 euros per month.

It is noted that the solidarity levy was suspended for the incomes of 2021 as well as 2022 for the private sector with the fiscal cost amounting to 799 million euros per year. Now, with the complete abolition of the solidarity levy from 2023, the cost to the budget will reach 1.2 billion euros

This year the following are exempt from the levy:

– Salaries, wages, allowances and benefits in kind as well as any other type of remuneration regularly paid to an employee in the private sector, who is employed in a dependent employment relationship. In this case, the fees received monthly by those employed with service contracts and issuing service invoices from “blocks” are also covered. They also include those occasionally employed in the private sector.

– The net profits from the individual exercise of a commercial enterprise, a service enterprise or a liberal profession acquired in 2021 and to be declared with this year’s tax returns.

– The net profits of 2021 from the individual exercise of agricultural activity which will be declared this year.

– Property rents received in 2021 that will appear on this year’s tax returns.

– Dividends, interest on bank deposits repos/reverse repos, rights acquired in 2021 and will be declared this year.

From the new year, the following will also be exempted:

– political civil servants,

– public officials, i.e. the military, police, firefighters, port officers, judges, NHS doctors, academics, researchers and other public officials,

– pensioners of all Funds,

– members of the government, parliamentarians, general and special secretaries, regional governors, mayors and executives of businesses and public sector organizations.