They are now telling us we will receive the 5th installment

The issue of privatizations and the additional measures for 2011 in the negotiations of the Finance minister with the Troika will conclude today or tomorrow at the latest. However, the reps from Deutsche Telekom are expected today as well, in order to close the deal for the sale of 16% of OTE.

As revealed by protothema.gr, despite the alarmist statements of the past days about the fifth installment, the pressure for additional austerity measures, and the uncertainty as to when exactly the June installment will be received, the Finance Ministry now says that "by Tuesday or Wednesday we will have concluded the negotiations and will ultimately receive this installment.”

The 6th installment of September though remains a question mark, and might lead to fermentations and rapid developments in the political and economic life of our country.

Before the end of the week, the Troika auditors will deliver two preliminary reports to be sent to Brussels, Frankfurt and Washington. The first will probably give the go-ahead for the release of the fifth installment in exchange for additional measures. The others will address the viability of the Greek debt and the need for a new loan for 2012-2013. This issue will be discussed at the Eurogroup meetings on June 6 and 20, but also at the Head of State meeting at the end of the month.
 
Express privatizations

The agreement which government and auditors appear to be approaching will probably provide for the creation of an independent Public Property Fund, which will stop any governmental intervention that might prevent the privatizations to be undertaken by the Troika through their providing "technical assistance" to our country.

Regarding the OTE bargain, the Germans are coming with a proposal to acquire the entire state participation in the Organization. They are likely to propose attractive terms and payment options that will "sweeten the pill" of the changes in the organizational structure and the contracts related to the OTE staff.

Next in line are the Post Bank and ELPE.
 
23% VAT in restaurants

Regarding the new tax package, it is expected to be milder compared to the one announced a few days ago at the cabinet meeting by minister Papakonstantinou.

It seems that VAT will almost double in September, from 13% to 23%, mainly in food services (restaurants, cafes, etc) and not in groceries and supermarkets, which would directly burden our shopping basket.

The decrease of the tax-free limit should be considered as a given which will lead to a further reduction of the wage earner's income, since it is going to raise the tax withholding percentage even the during summer and quite possibly from July.

Special taxes on boats, pools, large vehicles, etc, ad well asrefreshments and natural gas, increases in vehicle taxes, cigarette and heating oil price increases (through assimilation with car fuel), are also being drafted.

An idea that is being discussed concerns the implementation of a special tax on all banking transactions (loans, deposits, etc), but as it seems it was rejected due to the already large leakage of bank deposits.  

Another idea relates to a 10% cut in the state pensioners' lump sum, even retroactively from 2009!

The findings of the audits on the Greek economy, the progress in implementing the memorandum, the prospect of servicing the state debt, as well as proposals to address the funding gap for the 2012-2013 period, will all be reflected in the 2 reports that will be prepared by the Troika in the next 15 days, which will form the basis for decisions at summit level.