ATHENS: Greece’s parliament early yesterday approved a new tax bill, part of the latest batch of fiscal reforms tied to the country’s next slice of EU loans.
The legislation, criticised by the opposition as another serious blow to middle-class incomes in the midst of a recession, was supported by 162 deputies from the governing three-party coalition in a vote held after midnight in the 300-strong parliament.
The latest reform, the first part of a larger overhaul expected in April, broadens the tax base in the hope of increasing state revenue by about ¤2.5bn ($3.3bn) this year.
It introduces new annual income thresholds for salaried taxpayers and scraps tax breaks for the self-employed, a class blamed for a large part of the tax evasion that has plagued state finances for decades. The conservative-led coalition government has been hit with several defections in the past few weeks in opposition to the continued austerity wave.
Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras had said the bill had to be voted on this week ahead of a meeting by European finance ministers that will determine the disbursement of Greece’s next loan instalment. AFP
