meters who announced premier on saturday night from tif stage Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, Deputy Finance Minister Theodoros Skylakakis and Deputy Finance Minister Apostolos Vesiropoulos were the experts.
The Minister of Finance said that regarding the course of the economy, it has become known that this year we will have a high nominal GDP growth of about 205 billion euros, while it was reported that the primary deficit target of 2% at the end of 2022 remains despite to increase spending to support households and businesses, while the general government debt reduction forecast also remains in place and will be below 2019 levels.
“Unemployment is declining and is at its lowest level in 12 years. The authority of the country is strengthened by increased supervision. Over the past three years, it has been upgraded 11 times and is close to reaching investment grade,” he added.
As he pointed out, the cost of the intervention is 13.2 billion euros in 2022, of which 10 billion euros is the cost of subsidizing electricity and natural gas for households and businesses. 80% of all interventions are directed towards generous subsidies: 4.1 billion euros for households and the rest for businesses.
Interventions, he says, are based on six pillars:
One-time assistance of 250 euros for vulnerable households
The beneficiaries are 1 million pensioners compared to 634 thousand in April with a monthly income of 800 euros compared to 600 euros in April. Also, 35,000 uninsured OPECA seniors, 172,000 disability benefit recipients, 225,000 minimum guaranteed income recipients will receive a double payment in December. 800,000 recipients of OPEKA child benefits will receive an additional payment of 1.5 times
The total cost will be 496 million euros.
An increase of 200,000 beneficiaries of the Recycling-Replacement Program worth €140 million.
Subsidizing 250,000 farmers due to an increase in the cost of fertilizers worth 60 million euros, subsidizing 50,000 livestock breeders due to an increase in the cost of animal feed in the amount of 89 million euros.
Increasing heating bills
Income criteria are defined in:
- From 14,000 euros, 16,000 euros per person
- and from 20,000 to 24,000 euros for married people plus 3,000 for each child
Benefit awill increase from 300 euros to 350 euros, and those who consume oil or liquefied gas this year will receive a double surcharge for heating. The cost is 300 million euros. There will also be a horizontal decline of 25 cents per liter in fuel oil.
Extended until June 2023 reduced VAT on transport, coffee and soft drinks. The same goes for Culture and Tourism, gyms and dance schools.
Installation of photovoltaic panels, providing the necessary space in the network.
Work
$1.7 billion in action to create quality jobs and increase workers’ incomes.
- A new, third increase in the minimum wage, effective from May 2023. The payroll of 1 million workers will be affected.
- Second, to permanently reduce insurance premiums by 3 percentage points, which increases the income of 2.2 million workers. cost 871 million euros.
- Thirdly, the permanent abolition of the collection of solidarity in the private sector.
This measure increases the disposable income of 1.2 million workers. The cost is 765 million euros.
- Fourth, exemption from the sham fee for sham and small businesses with a gross income of up to 2 million euros per year.
- Fifth, incentives to convert part-time contracts to full-time contracts for businesses with a high percentage of part-time workers. From the day before yesterday until the end of 2023, those companies in which the percentage of part-time employees exceeds 50% under employment contracts concluded before September 10 and transferred from part-time to full-time, are exempt from paying 40% of insurance premiums for one year for the assigned employee. This applies to approximately 290,000 businesses employing 2.2 million people.
Civil servants of the third axis – measures worth 855 million euros
1. The final abolition of the solidarity fee for civil servants, the measure applies to 500,000 of our compatriots.
2. Cancellation of the special contribution of 1% in favor of the Social Security Fund for Civil Servants. The measure applies to 600,000 of our compatriots.
3. Immediate settlement of ongoing military pay requirements, such as changing the wages of long-term volunteers and short-term transfers of soldiers, extending the five-year military service to other categories of personnel, and issuing decisions. on the payment of special compensation for the night allowance of the leading employees of the Armed Forces and a special additional payment to the crews of warships.
4. Reform of the special salary of 20,000 National Health Service doctors from January 1, 2023, with an increase in the basic salary, the hospital work allowance and the increase in responsible position.
5. Restructuring the wage fund for civil servants with an emphasis on low-paid and responsible positions.
Fourth axis – pensioners
Measures worth €1.1 billion based on three components.
1. One-time assistance to 1 million low-income pensioners with a monthly income of 800 euros.
2. Definitive abolition of the special solidarity contribution for one million pensioners.
3. Increase in basic pensions in 2023. The increase will affect 1.5 million pensioners, who practically do not differ from each other.
Fifth axis – Network of measures to address rising housing costs
1. Increase the student housing allowance by 50% from 1,000 to 1,500 euros per year and up to 2,000 euros in the case of two or more applicants.
2. The second is the Renovate-Save program for youth with the possibility of obtaining a loan at a low interest rate. This concerns about 40,000 young people.
3. The Renovation-Rent program for vacant houses in order to increase useful housing is subsidized in the amount of 40% of the cost of repairs for vacant houses. This affects about 10,000 property owners and tenants.
4. Providing preferential housing loans through co-financing for the purchase of a first home by young people and young couples under the age of 39 years.
5. Creation of new, modern student dormitories in five universities of the country. Crete, Thessaly, Thrace, Western Greece and Western Macedonia have already passed through the inter-ministerial committee.
6. Establishment of a new tool for the use of state real estate, social compensation.
7. Activation of the program “Estia”. The state will lease private property to make it available at very low rents to vulnerable beneficiaries.
8. Increasing the threshold for issuing a license to obtain a golden visa to 500,000 euros from 250,000 euros.
sixth axis
Other development measures worth €240 million such as incentives to extend the tourist season by expanding the Tourism for All program to reach 200,000 new beneficiaries and the new EOT co-promotion program in cooperation with tour operators and airlines. and suspension of VAT at 24% for new buildings until the end of 2024.
In addition, by the end of 2023, it is planned to reform the operating system of the capital market with important investment and tax incentives, such as a reduction in the tax on raising funds from 0.5% to 0.2%, a 50% reduction in the tax on the stock exchange and the abolition of tax on interest on bonds on corporate and government bonds;
Source: Kathimerini
Lori Barajas is an accomplished journalist, known for her insightful and thought-provoking writing on economy. She currently works as a writer at 247 news reel. With a passion for understanding the economy, Lori’s writing delves deep into the financial issues that matter most, providing readers with a unique perspective on current events.