Less than a week after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a €500 million package of measures, his government is already working on the next round. Officials in Athens are drawing up an additional €200 million in relief measures for this year, while separately preparing what is expected to be a €1 billion package of announcements for 2027, that will be unveiled at the Thessaloniki International Fair this September.
Greece has been gripped by a persistent cost-of-living crisis that predates the recent conflict in Iran, although the war has driven energy costs sharply higher and deepened the squeeze on household budgets. Mitsotakis faces meaningful political risk: not from a resurgent opposition, but from growing discontent among Greek voters. With his four-year term entering its final stretch and elections on the horizon, the government is deploying its impressive surplus in an attempt to convert budgetary outperformance into political goodwill before the clock runs out.
The Fiscal Windfall Behind the Spending
Greece’s primary budget surplus reached 4.9% of GDP in 2025, well above the 3.7% target, according to data certified by Eurostat and ELSTAT, Greece’s national statistics authority. That outperformance, combined with spending constraints, creates a total fiscal envelope of €1.7 billion available across 2026 and 2027.
Last Wednesday’s package, which included expanded rent subsidies, a €150 payment for families with children, and an increase in pensioner support to €300, consumed €500 million of that. Of the remaining €1.2 billion, €200 million is earmarked for additional relief measures later this year. The remaining €1 billion is reserved for the Thessaloniki announcements in September, though the precise nature of those measures has not yet been determined.
What Is Being Considered for September
The government has signaled that businesses and the self-employed will be a priority focus for the September package. Three specific measures are under consideration.
The first is the abolition of the Annual Business Fee — a flat levy charged to companies regardless of whether they turn a profit. The fee was already eliminated for freelancers and the self-employed in 2025; scrapping it for incorporated businesses has been a longstanding demand from the private sector.
The second targets advance corporate income tax payments. Under current rules, small and medium-sized enterprises must prepay 80% of their prior year’s income tax liability — a significant cash-flow burden, particularly for businesses already navigating elevated costs. Newly established companies pay a reduced rate of 50% for their first three years; the government is weighing an extension of that relief to the wider SME population.
The third involves employer social security contributions. A half-percentage-point reduction is already scheduled for 2027. Officials are now examining whether a larger cut is fiscally viable.
Source: tovima.com
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