Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will announce permanent measures to improve middle-class incomes, mainly through tax cuts, with a focus on families, at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) this Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said.
He noted that the scale of the measures will be close to €1.5 billion, in addition to the €1 billion package announced in April that included a rent rebate for tenants and an annual €250 payment to low-income pensioners.
Hatzidakis reiterated that the emphasis will be on reducing direct taxes, arguing that such cuts “go straight into the pockets of all taxpayers,” unlike indirect tax reductions, which are often absorbed by intermediaries. “We saw this in the past both in Greece and in other EU countries such as Spain, which rolled back VAT rate cuts. Citizens will gain much more from reductions in direct taxes. The government is not working for the ‘smart alecks’ but for the average Greek citizen,” he stressed.
The deputy prime minister said that despite lower tax rates, state revenues have increased thanks to two main factors: economic growth above the eurozone average and significant steps taken in the past two years to curb tax evasion and contribution evasion.
Speaking to Open TV about the OPEKEPE issue, Hatzidakis said that, as promised by the prime minister, the government would on Tuesday publish a list of the “big fish”—those who received the largest subsidy amounts—who will be required to return the sums unduly paid and face legal consequences. “It was our obligation, and we are delivering,” he said.
Source: tovima.com
