600 euro allowance: Who is left out - The pitfalls and traps

A series of questions and dark spots that will probably make it difficult for households and businesses arise both from the announcement of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis yesterday and from the specification of the measures today for the 600 euro allowance (which eventually starts from 18 euros).

Undoubtedly, the 3.2 billion euro package of measures was absolutely necessary and came about after strong pressure from the opposition, society and certainly fear with the polls, but the final solution chosen leaves many gaps and has a complexity. It is not a clear solution of removing the indexation clause for bills or a direct horizontal subsidy to all. Besides middle class or not, the «bite» of electricity bills has been felt by all. A big gap is also the final mechanism that will be in place from July. The indexation clause is not being abolished, however this money will come out of the government's piggy bank, which is filled by the taxpayers.

Following the announcements made, legitimate questions arise such as:

• Finally there are «money trees» and they were found for the subsidy in the stream?;
• Is the revaluation clause correctly applied to the accounts to date?;
• Is there finally a RAE conclusion on excess profits or not?;
• Did it take 9 months for there to be a more comprehensive intervention in the accounts?;
• How will the wholesale intervention work and how will it affect bills in the end?;

The useful... gaps for the electricity allowance

What citizens who have been facing serious problems with their electricity bills are waiting for is to see the notorious 600 euro allowance. But that is not going to happen. The allowance starts at EUR 18 and goes up to EUR 600, possibly in some extreme cases. But even this bonus does not apply to all consumers.

The solution chosen is to become a new platform. And here as usual the bureaucratic hassles begin. Because a platform is easy to make, the issue is the data that this platform will have in it to make the applications.

Owners will register on this platform in order to receive a retroactive refund for main residence bills issued between 1 December 2021 and 21 May 2022. The allowance of up to 600 euros i.e. for electricity. However, the measure in principle does not apply to all households and does not concern businesses. It concerns households with a declared income of up to 45,000 euros, who have not received any rebates from the state or energy providers so far, and the date of the bill issue will count for the refund, not the period of consumption.

The platform is expected to become operational in early June, according to Th. However, there is always the risk of creating a new mess. At the moment there are different data in tax offices and PPC for owners and electricity meters.

Also, the €600 allowance only applies to first and main residences, provided that this is correctly declared to the tax authorities. Businesses and holiday homes are excluded.

From the amount of EUR 600, the amount of discounts and subsidies already granted will be deducted.

Who is at risk of losing their electricity allowance
Taxable income: Those who have shown income from all sources (salaries, pensions, allowances, business profits, compensation, rents, etc.) above EUR 45,000 in their 2020 tax returns are excluded.

It should be noted that this is family income, which means that in the case of landlords the incomes of the spouses are added.

That is, if one has declared 20,000 euros and the other 26,000 euros, they will not receive the allowance.

ATTENTION: Taxable income is the income remaining after deducting the expenses deductible under the provisions of the Tax Code from the gross income.

Main residence: The allowance covers electricity consumption only for the main residence and therefore those who have declared secondary or holiday homes to the tax authorities will not receive the allowance.

Will the compensation be given to the consumer whose electricity supply number is in his/her name or to the tenants of a first home if the electricity bill is not in their name?;

Students: Those who did not file a tax return and did not declare their primary residence as their primary residence will not receive an allowance.

Communal: No allowance will be given for utility charges in apartment buildings.

Business: Not subject to the allowance up to EUR 600.