Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said that the austerity measures he’s imposed on the orders of international lenders have done all they can and that he wants a flat corporate tax rate of 15 percent in order to bolster investment and growth to help Greece get out from under a crushing economic crisis.
He made no mention of lowering the 23 percent Value Added Tax (TAX) that is crippling restaurant and tavern business and driving down expected tax revenues instead of increasing them.
Opening the Europe 2020 conference organized by the government and the European Commission in Athens, the premier said that the hardship Greece is going through actually favors the development of enterprises, stressing that entrepreneurship is the way out of the crisis.
He went on to explain that there cannot possibly be any growth without primary surpluses “as no matter how much costs are cut, it is impossible to reach our target with such high taxation,” according to the newspaper Kathimerini.
“It is only through private initiative that we will emerge from the crisis,” he stated, blaming the problems encountered in entering the Greek market on the obstacles raised by unions and bureaucracy. He repeated his vow not to implement any more pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions. “This year will be the crucial one for the rebound,” he said, expressing certainty that “Greece will make it.”
But he said that Greece needs cash flow and to stimulate, instead of stifle, entrepreneurs. “We are fighting under difficult circumstances,” he stated, noting that the recapitalization of banks will safeguard the sustainability of the credit sector and boost liquidity in the market. The state has also gradually started paying back its arrears, at a time when it owes the private sector some 9.6 billion euros, $12.48 billion.
“Along with confidence, the flow of deposits returning to local banks is growing, while liquidity is supported by the state repaying its dues to citizens,” the prime minister said. He also announced that a program offering guarantees to exporting companies will start at the end of April, adding up to 1.5 billion euros, ($1.95 billion) while a letter-of-guarantees system is also being set in motion.
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