The losses for an average household will reach up to 500 euros per month

Millions of employees and pensioners will lose up to 25% of their income with the measures that will be finalized today and tomorrow in the meetings with the Troika, before being announced by Giorgos Papakonstantinou in the cabinet meeting this Monday.

Based on Troika requirements, due to the increases in direct and indirect taxes, cuts in social benefits, allowances and pensions, but also the extra contributions, an average household will lose about 480-500 euros per month, or more than 5.500 per year, which means that a salary-supported family, living on 2.000 euros per month, is in danger of losing almost ¼ of its income.

The forthcoming cuts will affect mid-level wages too, since:

    * for incomes up to 30.000 the cuts will be implemented gradually, while those who make over 60.000 per year will have to say good-bye to exemptions and tax breaks
    * social benefits will continue to be given only to those who live in the poverty line, that is at 6.000 euros per taxpayer or 12.000 for a family. Crosschecks will be made to find out if married people submit separate statements to receive EKAS and tax exemptions. The award criteria will include imputed income and other assets.

 Starting this year, the government will:

    * bring back the separation in tax-free limits between salaried employees and freelancers. The 12.000-euro cap is decreased probably to 10.000 or 8.000 for salaried employees and 6.000 for traders
    * impose a special tax on cigarettes and a minimum consumption tax on natural gas (5-15 euros per month)
    * prepare a special contribution for real estate owners whose property’s objective value exceeds 3 or 4 thousand  euros per m²
    * increase by 10% the VAT in tavernas, restaurants etc (from 13% to 23%)
    * prepare an increase of 20-30% in vehicular taxes
    * enforce special taxes in bottled juice and refreshments of about 10c per bottle
    * collect fines from 1.2 million owners of unauthorised constructions (about 5.000 in yearly installments)
    * further increase the minimum consumption tax for heating oil
    * decrease by 100.000 euros the tax free limit for enforcement of real estate tax (300.000 from today’s 400.000)
    * introduce an increase in objective values from 1/1/2012
    * seek up to 4bil euros from vacant inheritances and bank deposits that have remained inactive for 10 or 20 years
    * eliminate the issuing of salary maturities to public servants for the collection of 200mil euros
    * impose a special tax on boats, pools and large private cars.