Summer is over. Not because the schools started today. But because the lenders’ representatives are flocking to Athens in order to audit the progress of the austerity measures. The Greek program Review is expected to commence in October and end up with success so that the €2.8billion bailout tranche will be released.
While the lenders’ representatives will check every euro and every pence in expenditure and revenues, the Greek government will have to prove that it is taking its commitments seriously and it is implemented the bailout prior actions as required.
Therefore, the next package of revenue bringing measures is right outside the Greek taxpayers’ doors. After the summer tax tsunami of income of the new income taxation system and the Unified Property Tax in September, Greeks will have to dig again in their pockets and find cash so that the government will be proud to say “We do our best to meet out obligations towards the lenders.”
The new package of measures includes
increases in the prices for heating oil, fuel for farmers, fuel, diesel, traffic fees, cigarettes, coffee
a special fee to be imposed in telecommunications landlines
scrapping the 30% tax break on the rest of the islands
Prices of fuel used by farmers will increase by 65% – as of 1. October 2016
Heating Oil – Special fee- Retail prices will be burdened with 0.06-0.07 euro per liter
These price increases will end up in driving up all prices for food and some services.
By end of December 5million vehicle owners will be called to pay more than one billion euro in traffic fees for 2017.
Fuel prices will go up as of 1. January 2017 and the hikes will be higher as they will have impact also in the Value Added Tax.
Prices for cigarettes and tobacco products will go up 20%-26%, the retail price hike will be half or one euro per package. Fluid for e-cigarettes will go also up, some 10 cents per ml.
Coffee will see 10%-20% hikes
Telecommunications: a fee of 5% will be imposed in the net monthly or bi-monthly bill of landlines. The V.A.T. of 24% will be calculated according to the new prices. The total increase is estimated to be 6%.
According to daily Imerisia, outstanding debts to the state have reached 90.4billion euro.
With the upcoming measures that will give another boost to prices for goods and services, I “foresee” that debts to the state will increase. But no finance ministry official would ask my opinion.
What I see in the basic method of stripping Greeks in one way or another is: one month we pay direct taxes, next month we pay our share of Extras in form of price increases and indirect taxes (VAT). And nobody wonders, where shall we find the money the government needs to collect.
tsipras sei un gran bel pezzo di merda maleodorante….. devi morire presto
tell the fatwo to do wht he said he would do quit internaltioanl grandstanding , hw is a mouse
This will hit companies and consumers alike. Many people will go cold this winter. More companies will go out of business because increase in fuel prices will cut their profit margins further. Many small farmers will not make it. But that seems to be the plan: destroy the SME so only big companies will survive, and they and foreign companies will pick up what is left. Up next, more privatization of utility companies and services so you will “better service for better prices” .
That’s the plan alright.
Correct: the German lackeys of a Government here do not want to be paid in money for taxes. Real estate is their preferred currency.