Amid strong reactions even from its own deputies, Greek government tabled a regulation amending the amendments the same government had …amended a couple of days ago. According to the latest amendment, the unified property tax (ENFIA) and the income tax were excluded from the up to 100-installment settlement for debtors to the state.
And this although the Finance Ministry had festively included ENFIA and income tax in the settlement guidelines (see here KTG Nov 11/2014). A measure much praised by the government and the mainstream media in the usual tone of “the government gives a breath to thousands of debtors…blah..blah…blah”.
Troika rules
What happened within two days and the government made a U-turn? The disagreement with the Troika. The country’s’ lenders opposed the 100-istallments regulation fearing a hole in the revenues and threatened to postpone their visit to Athens. A visit aiming to start the latest review of the Greek program progress and eventually give the green light for a new settlement of the Greek public debt with the lenders. Here is to note that the Greek government is convinced that the next Eurogroup on December 8th will set the conditions for a bailout-exit for the debt-ridden country.
So apparently under the Troika’s pressure and threats, the Greek government stepped back and left the eternally indebted Greeks to sit in the cold and struggle to find cash to pay their property and income tax due in the current year.
Gov’t MPs react
Apostolos Kaklamanis from coalition government party PASOK threatened to down-vote the new regulation, while media report of other government MPs considering doing the same. Criticism came also from Dora Bakogianni (Nea Dimokratia MP), while even Minister for Administrative Reform Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that “it does not do good to the government if we change regulations back and forth.”
Government officials attempted to justify the ‘amendment’ claiming “it was a small mistake, now we corrected it.”
Rumors circulating since early in the morning claim that the General Secretary of Revenues, Katerina Savvaidou was considering to resign as she was responsible for the inclusion of ENFIA and income tax to the 100-installment settlement.
PS I suppose nobody would cry if Savvaidou resigns, she will be replaced as soon as possible. Prime Ministers, and Ministers and General Secretaries come and go but the Troika remains, rules and divides…
This is indeed a tragedy and i hope they get the help they need. But judging from the amount of fat greeks i see on the street, there seem to be a lot of greeks eating far too much!
have you ever read nutritionists’ studies in USA etc you would know that poverty leads to obesity due to unhealthy food coz lack of means.
Well Mr. Feeder,
I suggest that you come here and try to live under the conditions these “Fat Greeks” live. you would soon find out that the majority live from Bread and Spaghetti. Even the farmers are living only on “greens” and no oil.
I suggest that before you bleat out accusations of too many “Fat Greeks” on the streets eating too much, you get your head out of your A**E and look at the real FACTS.
This is a typical situation from a tyranical government that doesn’t give a damn about the people living in the country. As long as they (ND) appease their masters (TROIKA. I predicted a while ago a war in Greece. I guess this is the governments way of stopping people revolt, by making them too weak from hunger so that they cannot do anything but either commit suicide or die from starvation.
My prediction still holds…..it is just a matter of time and a change of government is not going to stop it either as the puppet masters have planned this a while ago.