Up to 50% smaller lump sum even retroactively…

The economy team says that "there is much work to be done in battling tax evasion," but it is preparing tough measures to cut wages and pensions.

 

In order to meet the bill of 11.5 billion euros from government spending cuts, they are planning to implement some measures this year from the 2013-2014 biennium package. These measures include:

 

-  drastic reduction in the income criteria to be adopted for granting social benefits and welfare benefits to 30,000 euros or even lower, at 25,000 (annual income). But then almost half of the beneficiaries will lose their benefits from this year

-  halving the lump sum of beneficiaries, even if they have already retired from their service. However extreme, officials are thinking of the possibility to request from those that managed to get the lump sum at the last minute this year to pay back part of it as "additional levy". This is because the economic team estimates that 24 of the 37 Funds that give a lump sum pay excessive amounts of more than 2% to 83% of the paid contributions

 

Economy officials are also thinking of implementing from this year:

 

-  a benefits plan under which the annual income that is as a criterion for their issuing will also include presumptive items instead of the actual acquired incomes. Thus, most homeowners may lose their EKAS too. Officials are now also considering giving it to pensioners aged 65 and over, instead of the current 60

-  the law that - as revealed by Proto Thema - is being prepared to put in reserve the public servants involved in corruption or those that have harmed the State (intentionally or not).

 

The final proposals will be in the hands of the political leaders no later than Monday, August 20, to give them a period of at least 10 days until the arrival of Troika.