Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry: The messages of the program statements are positive

On the occasion of the completion of the process of programmatic statements of the new government and the granting of a vote of confidence to it, the president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry – ACCI Ms. Sofia Kounenaki Efraimoglou made the following statement:

“The programmatic statements of the government sent positive messages to the market, confirming the intention to continue the reforms and policies that lead to the productive transformation and coherent development of the Greek economy.

Commitments to meet national fiscal targets, to achieve reasonable primary surpluses and to steadily reduce public debt, reinforce confidence in the stability and prospects of the Greek economy. They bring the goal of obtaining investment grade even closer and encourage new investment and business initiatives.

At the level of tax policy, the announcements on the reduction of the ENFIA property tax on insured properties, the reform of the living standards, the reduction by one more unit of the employer’s contributions and the gradual preparation of the employment tax are positively evaluated. Equally right and imperative, however, is the emphasis that the new government seems to place on cracking down on tax evasion, as this effort will largely determine the possibility of further tax reductions in the future.

Expectations in the market are created by the commitment of the new government to facilitate the access of businesses to sources of financing, as well as the outline of priorities of the Ministry of Development, which include the strengthening of the industrial base, the protection and strengthening of Greek brands, the further simplification and full digitization of licensing processes, the closer connection of research and innovation to the market and manufacturing.

For the Greek economy, the big bet in the coming years is to increase exports and support businesses that can innovate and export products and services with high added value.

The extroverted growth combined with the fiscal balance is the dipole on which the achievement of the ambitious goals set for the new four-year period will depend. Having secured the confidence of the Parliament, the government must now proceed quickly and boldly in the specification and implementation of its plan”.