The president of the Rhodes Hoteliers’ Association, Mr. Yiannis Papavassiliou, in a statement, describes the exclusion of Rhodes from the reinstatement of reduced VAT rates on the islands, in the announcements made by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the TIF, as unfair and unjustified.
Following the recent actions of the Union, culminating in the recent letter to the Prime Minister in view of the TIF, Mr. Papavassiliou points out: “The reinstatement of the reduced VAT on the small islands of the Dodecanese is a particularly positive development, as the real needs of our region and the border islands have finally been recognized. It is important that the state has accepted the specificity of insularity and the challenges that arise from it.
However, the exclusion of Rhodes from the measure is unfair and unjustified. Rhodes is the only border island with a population of over 20,000 inhabitants that is not subject to the reduced rate, while Lesvos, Samos, Chios and Kos continue to be included in the favorable regime due to immigration. Despite the fact that Rhodes, as a border and border island, also faces corresponding challenges and burdens, it remains unjustifiably in a more unfavorable tax position. This is a blatant injustice, which must be remedied.
United with all the bodies of the Dodecanese, we will continue with consistency and determination to demand the inclusion of Rhodes in the reduced VAT regime, in order to ensure equal treatment, justice and the real strengthening of the competitiveness of our region.
