Boston, MA — May 7, 2026 — Deon Policy Institute celebrates the implementation of one more of its proposals in Greece aimed at enabling the country's brain regain and strengthening its research and innovation capacity.

Earlier this month, the Greek government announced that it will be extending its repatriation tax incentive to those who will be employed in the Greek public sector upon their return, including researchers, professors, scientists, engineers, and other highly skilled professionals.

The revised framework expands the scope of Article 5C of the Greek Income Tax Code, allowing eligible individuals who transfer their tax residency to Greece and work in the public sector to benefit from a 50% reduction in income tax for seven years. Until now, similar incentives primarily applied to the private sector.

The policy reflects one of the recommendations submitted by Deon, inspired by our Bringing Back Greek Scholars initiative, on attracting Greek scientists and professors back to the country.

According to Deon's research on the Greek academic diaspora:

• Salary levels are the #1 deterrent for not returning: 35% of those unwilling to relocate cite salaries and benefits as their primary reason.

• Compensation levels in Greece are negatively perceived: 77% rate of Greek academics abroad view compensation negatively

• Salary expectations are within reach: 32% would accept ≤€2,250/month (in line with current Greek salaries), and another 32% cite €4,000/month — the ceiling of what public universities pay, but attainable when grants and allowances are included.

• The main recommendation of the diaspora is to raise salaries: cited by 36% of respondents, ahead of research funding (19%) and meritocracy (18%).

The revised tax framework tackles the above challenges by effectively increasing net salaries by reducing the tax burden on highly skilled professionals.

The new tax incentive offers:

• 50% reduction in income tax for eligible returnees employed in Greece for seven years

• Applicability extended to public sector employment, including academia and research

• Retroactive implementation for eligible recent applicants

• Fully digital application process through myAADE (apply here)