Forget what I told you about the Emergency Property Tax 2012. Greek Finance Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon saying that the Emergency Property Tax for 2012 will be tagged -again – in the Electricity Bills.
“Due to current law and technical difficulties as well as time limitations, it is not possible to modify the collection of the Emergency Property Tax. Therefore DEH (Greek Public Power Company) will continue to collect the emergency property tax.
The tax for 2012 will be paid in five installments that will come every two months on the electricity bills.
The E.P.Tax2012 has been included in the budget of 2012. As from 2013 it will be replaced by the flat property tax,” the FinMin statement said.
The first bills containing E.P.Tax 2012 will arrive to millions of households in upcoming August.
It looks as if the government promises to replace already this tax by the flat one, the promises to disconnect it from the electricity bill and consequently from power supply cuts as well as to broaden the number of those exempted according to social criteria (as the gov’t said today) were not accepted by Greece’s lenders representatives, the Troika.
This evening I heard on the news, that also the issue of the 5 installments is yet to be negotiated with the Troika.
In 2011 the E.P.Tax came in two installments in the average of €400 x 2. Due to the deep recession and the economic crisis many citizens were unable to pay it. PPC did not accept to collect just the electricity bill with the effect that some households had to sit in the dark when the PPC cut their power supply.
Initially the Finance Ministry had ordered PPC to cut the electricity if the tax was not paid. Later this decision was cancelled.
I assume the same regulations will apply with E.P.Tax 2012, that is the PPC will hold the unpaid (tax) bills and then transfer them to the tax office. But nobody knows today. We have to wait for new announcements.
The confusing thriller does not seem to end so easily…
I suspect it is too hot in Greece for the people to protest in the streets.
Or is it that poor people do not protest. I don’t understand.
Who was protesting against austerity cuts?
Oh yes . That’s right. The public union fat cats were protesting.
Is anyone protesting the property tax on electric bills?
of course people protest the pt on eb: they do not pay 🙂