Despite mixed messages about the economy – it’s up, it’s down, it’s recovering, it’s on the rocks – Greece is trying to promote that all will be well but the European Union isn’t so sure.
A European Commission report about Greece talks about a slipping economy in the second half of 2013 with unpredicted consequences.
The report mentions that the uneven distribution of taxes during the second semester is expected to bring in fewer revenues that expected and put a crushing burden on taxpayers who will be demanded to pay a doubled previous year’s property tax, higher income taxes and a new luxury tax.
The report says that many inquiries are created about how effective will the regulations of the debts to the tax offices and the insurance funds will be. Greece’s international lenders remain frustrated that despite the desperate need for money that Greece has not gone after tax cheats who owe $70 billion and aren’t paying.
The EU says that Greece, the bloc’s most corrupt country, is doing almost nothing to change it, implementing only seven of 23 measures to combat graft.
The report also criticizes the slow payment of debts to creditors and the black hole of the health care insurance system EOPYY which has a 1.2 billion euros ($1.54 billion) debt and out-of-control mismanagement.
The Commission’s report refers to the big decrease of the labor cost and the low demand, while at the same time the prices of all goods of wide consumption remain extremely high. The Commission asks the promotion of the reforms at the products market so that there will be competitive balance.
According to the report, the Troika of international lenders has encouraging data for tourism, as a big improvement in employment demand on the Greek islands has already been recorded in relation to 2012.
The Commission’s report says that Greece continues to make progress, but slowly, while it is pointed out that many actions of the government are particularly delayed. It is mentioned that the economic indicators during the first semester in 2013 show that we have reached the bottom and that from now on the economy will begin its upward path but with very slow paces.
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