MINISTER: Submitted for consultation a bill with the government’s new measures for startups, VCs and business angels

For consultation, the Ministry of National Economy and Finance (MINISTRY) submitted a bill which contains incentives for businesses to proceed with mergers and acquisitions, tax exemptions for investments, the Startup Visa but also for collaborations of research centers with startups.

According to Ministry sources, the goal of the bill is to change the business map of Greece, promoting larger and stronger corporate formations with greater financing opportunities and growth potential.

The main points of the Ministerial Bill

More specifically, the key points of the Ministry of the Interior bill include:

• From January 1, 2025, a special residence permit will be granted for an investment of 250,000 euros in a startup business registered in the National Register of Startups (Elevate Greece). Condition that it leads to the creation of at least 2 jobs within the first year and that it maintains the same total number of jobs for at least 5 years from the investment.
• The tax incentives for business angels (angel investors) who invest in startups are strengthened. The upper limit for the deduction from the taxable income of a taxpayer-investor is expanded from 300,000 euros to 900,000 euros, up to 50% of the capital contributed to Startups registered in the National Register of Young Enterprises, and the possibility of investing in ACEs is added.
• A modern tax regime for Venture Capital Funds (VCs) is introduced. The tax regime of AKES is being rationalized and simplified, so that there is an incentive to create investment schemes based entirely in Greece, which are a key source of funding for innovative startups.
• Incentives for scientific and technological research expenditures are expanded. Interventions are introduced that build on the existing incentive of the horizontal overall discount of 200% for scientific and technological research expenditure. In particular, it is predicted that super-discount increases can reach from 250% to 315% in Startups collaboration projects with research centers.
• A single framework is established for business transformations (mergers, splits, sector contributions, exchange of securities, business conversions), domestically or cross-border (within/outside the EU subject to conditions) replacing relevant laws that are in force today and maintaining the relevant tax advantages, while being compatible with the corresponding Greek company legislation and the EU Directives.
• With regard to “small-scale” entrepreneurship – very small, small and medium-sized enterprises – of Law 4935/2022, the minimum share capital limit of the new company resulting from cooperation/transformation is reduced to 100,000 euros from 125,000 euros currently in force to ensure a 30% tax exemption on profits. Also, the possibility of tax loss transfer of transforming companies is established.
• Incentive for commercial patent exploitation is extended. With the new arrangement, in addition to the current 3-year exemption of the company’s profits from the commercial exploitation of the patent, a 10% reduction in income tax is now provided for an additional 7 years after the end of the three-year period.