The Greek government is considering imposing a special levy on the country’s 500 richest families as part of the measures proposed in order to unlock financial aid, said German newspaper Bild on Wednesday. The paper cites as source the list of proposed reforms that Athens has sent to the Eurogroup. Greece’s lenders expect a comprehensive list of reforms and proof of their implementation before any release bailout funds. Athens is facing bankruptcy, as negotiations with international lenders over further financial aid are in a deadlock. Both sides have drawn red lines on important issues and refuse to back down. Greece, however, has to make a 750 million euro loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund on May 12 and it is estimated that state coffers will be empty after that. The Greek finance ministry’s reform list includes increasing a solidarity tax that workers who earn more than 30,000 euros a year have to pay and raising a luxury tax on items such as expensive cars, boats and swimming pools, Bild said. Bild said that the Greek government is considering the imposition of an extra levy on Greece’s 500 richest families in order to generate revenues. The report said Athens had also proposed introducing a tax on stays in hotels of three stars or more to Greek holiday islands and standardizing value added tax rates. To improve honesty in tax matters, Athens is planning to only allow people to use a bank debit card or credit card for payments of more than 70 euros so that there is an electronic record of the transactions.
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