With reactions against the controversial new real estate tax ENFIA increasing and, beside the opposition parties, many government officers expressing their dismay at the measure, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has decided to focus on rectifying some of the tax’s “errors.” At present, New Democracy is faced with the possibility of alienating many of its traditional party supporters, including farmers, who are also struggling with the Russian embargo, further increasing their frustration. Even PASOK officers have reported that the feedback they have received, particularly from provincial areas, is exceptionally negative. Former New Democracy minister Evripidis Stylianidis commented that the new tax is “a blow against one of the main pillars of the capitalist system, which is the right to property” and was rather scathing in his appraisal of the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s response to the Russian embargo. Even active New Democracy officers, such as Maximos Harakopoulos and Iordanis Tzamtzis have adopted a more aggressive stance, demanding corrective initiatives. With the Troika meeting in Paris scheduled for September 3 and 4, Samaras wants to address many of these problems, so that he is able to negotiate a better deal with Greece’s creditors. Prior to the meeting in Paris though, he will attend the EU Summit in Brussels on August 30th to discuss the effect of the Russian embargo on the Greek economy. The agenda for the speech delivered by Samaras at the Thessaloniki International Fair, scheduled from September 6 to 14, has yet to be finalized before talks between Greek officials and the Troika in Paris on September 3 are concluded. The Greek delegation will seek to secure a basic agreement as regards to lightening Greece’s huge debt burden. They will also try to get the green light to introduce some measures to offset the impact of years of austerity, such as tax breaks and favorable repayment terms for individuals and businesses with non-performing loans. In this context, the government draws a new plan for the settlement of overdue payments towards Tax Office and Funds in order to negotiate with the Troika, which, up to now, reacts to the adjustment of overdue payments.
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