Tax breaks and lower social security contributions promised by main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis last week, during an address in Thessaloniki, will cost state coffers roughly six billion euros over a four-year period, the ND president’s chief of staff told “N” this week.
Additionally, Stylianos Petsas defended another high-profile promise by the center-right leader, namely, to hand over property tax proceeds to local government entities. He also explained that a “balancing” mechanism is in place so that municipalities with mostly low-income residents and with smaller budgets are adversely affected. He also said a supplementary real estate tax will be retained.
Petsas maintained that a reduction of social security contributions, from 20 percent to 15 percent, will take place over a four-year horizon, with two billion euros in less revenue collected by the state as a result.
