Tax-weary Greek traders welcome change of government
“Once my taxes are paid, at the end of the day I have 20 or 25 euros left in my pocket,” lamented Greek hairdresser Babis Toumbanos.
Like him, there are many entrepreneurs in the country who want the new conservative government that emerged from the July 7 general election to relieve the heavy tax burden of recent years.
Incoming Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis inherits an economy saddled with taxes applied in the last decade -- including a previous government which he was part of -- to refloat the country’s public finances in the middle of the debt crisis.
Mitsotakis has promised a “rebirth of the middle class”, which was squeezed by increases in VAT and income taxes, as well as the imposition during the crisis of a new heavy tax on real estate. The conservative leader announced that at the end of July his government will present a bill to lower these taxes, as well as the corporate tax rate from the current 28 percent to 20 percent.
Comments