More than 170,000 small and medium sized Greek businesses risk going bankrupt by the end of 2011, unless the government changes its tax policy and introduces growth measures, according to a survey Thursday.
An estimated 375,000 businesses are generating losses with 176,000 of these facing the risk of closure by the end of 2011, according to a survey conducted by The General Confederation of Small Businesses and Traders published by Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini.
According to the survey businesses are threatening to move their operations aboard in order to avoid higher taxes unless the government changes it tax policy. This change would mean more than 300,000 job losses.
The survey found that 44% of 960 businesses interviewed said they are likely or very likely to shut down, while 20% said there is significant danger of stopping operations.
The risk of bankruptcy is greatest in the manufacturer sector reaching nearly 50% and in very small businesses, according to the survey.
Of the polled companies, 77.8% said they had seen a fall in turnover, while 77% had seen a drop in demand. About one in five businesses had to reduce their staff.
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