By G. Kouros
Austerity measures totaling 1.8 billion euros are reportedly budgeted for 2018, with the draft budget for next year currently being compiled by relevant General Budget Office services.
The draft budget for 2018 is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament in early October.
The 1.8 billion in extra austerity measures include 1.385 billion euros in pension cuts, with a long-allocated monthly bonus given to low-income pensioners (known as the EKAS bonus) set for elimination at the beginning of the year. Added taxes passed last year in the wake of the third memorandum must yield 5.538 billion euros, up from 5.084 billion in 2017.
Overall, based on forecasts in the medium-term fiscal strategy program, the Greek state must collect revenues of roughly 49 billion euros in 2018, an increase of 725 million euros from the current year.
