Finance minister Tsakalotos to present Alexis Tsipras with 700 million tax breaks report
Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos will present to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in July a report showing where tax breaks of 700 million euros can be delivered in order to be included in a draft of next year’s budget, the minister told Athens-Macedonian News Agency.
In his first interview since the Εurogroup debt deal, the minister said that it was a good agreement and that people will gradually start feeling the difference in their pockets, with more jobs and investments amidst improving sentiment.
“It can always be better, but based on talks and the related facts, it is very good. It has been welcomed by almost all political families outside of Greece, the center left and center right. Also, by business papers and the vast majority of investors. Everyone can see that we have a clear path for many years, which I always said was what we wanted for investors. There is also a commitment for the long term, that if we don’t have enough growth, then they will take another look. It is an agreement that gives us what we want. And what we wanted was a clear path for us and investors, and when we say investors, I don’t just mean foreigners but Greeks also,” said Tsakalotos.
Questioned on whether the debt deal is in line with last year’s commitment from Εurogroup on Greece, the minister said yes.
“For example, in June 2017 Eurogroup said that there will be loan extensions of bonds for up to 15 years. When you see that it is ten years, if my maths are not wrong, that is closer to 15 years than it is to zero. It is said that the surplus of 2.2 percent of output is too high for the Greek economy to succeed. Generally, the surpluses being discussed, not just for Greece but for all within the Stability Agreement, are bigger than a leftist economist and a leftist finance minister would like. In talks in Europe regarding its future, there exist issues that we need to look at on the austerity that exists in Europe,” he added.
Source: AMNA