TA NEA

Commission report: Over taxation: we are (already) in 8th place

Greek ‘achievements’ in taxes on fuel and property have made the country the 8th most over taxed. A European Commission report revealed today by TA NEA put the country 8th amongst the 28 of the EU regarding fuel tax and 5th regarding property taxes.

 

 

KATHIMERINI (Sunday)

Over 260,000 businesses on the brink of forfeiture for debts to social security funds

2-year debt write off proposed

260,000 businesses are on the brink of forfeiture for debts to social security funds either because they did not manage to qualify for the measure ‘New Beginning’ which was agreed on last year with the troika, or due to the conditions of the measure which, in combination with the continual fall in economic activity, led to a cessation of payments to social security funds and delays in payments to employees.

The management of IKA [the largest social security organisation in Greece] had warned of the impasse developing from last year and had suggested a new negotiation with the troika over the issue of outstanding social security contributions, offering a detailed proposal. The General Secretariat of Social Security also submitted a proposal to the office of the Prime Minister months ago. For the rescue of the businesses as well as the social security funds which are seeing continual drops in their revenue streams even in current payments, the General Secretariat has reached the point of proposing either the write-off of debts for a previous two year period or the offset of the outstanding amount with the extension by two years of the… retirement age and the reduction of the interest rate from the 8.15% it is today to 2.5%. 

 

 

TO VIMA (Sunday)

Forget elections – we will likely have the 180 MPs required to elect a new President of the Republic

Interview: Antonis Samaras shows his hand following the reshuffle

  • From now on relief measures instead of austerity measures.
  • There will be tax reductions from the autumn.
  • The troika will soon be a memory from the past.
  • The “New Greece” plan for the country and not New Democracy.
  • Tsipras’s stance is reminiscent of an angry teenagers.

 

 

EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON (Monday)

Head hunters

The compromise over the 600 university staff does not change the policy of ‘human sacrifices’

Samaras – Venizelos meet following the clash between ministers Loverdos and Mitsotakis

The administrative staff of universities talk of a rigged process for PR purposes

The government is continuing its search for the public employees who will be added to the list of 15,000 dismissals.

6,700 remain to be dismissed in order to reach the memorandum target, regardless of the Samaras- Venizelos compromise for the transfer of 600 university staff that had been place in a ‘mobility scheme’.

In spite of the celebrations from ministers Mitsotakis and Loverdos, it is clear that they won’t diverge from the targets agreed on with the lenders.

ELEFTHEROTYPIA (Sunday)

“First looting and then elections”

‘Powerful foreign funds’ are banking on the Samaras government remaining in power following the March 2015 election for the President of the Republic in order to realize their plan to grab public wealth: to seal 3-4 super deals in key sectors and ‘dip their hands’ into infrastructure, projects, networks and prized tourism real estate. The current filling of key positions – in the economy and banks – with people of the system in any case, shows the strict maintenance of their ‘schedule’.