The diptych social sensitivity – fiscal stability they recommend circles of the Ministry of Finance responding to scenarios from a portion of the media for new benefits ahead of the Thessaloniki International Fair.

“While the ink has not yet “dried” since the vote at the end of July of the citizen support measures amounting to 4.4 billion euros (legislation of 50% of the economic program of the New Democracy), based on the so-called “revenue overperformance”, there are today publications and reports about imminent new benefits. These publications and reports are not based in reality” emphasize the sources of the Ministry of Finance, because, based on yesterday’s announcement by the Ministry of National Economy and Finance on the course of execution of the Budget, the figures are as follows:

The increased tax revenues of 2,347 million euros in the period January-July 2023, are on a cash basis and not on a fiscal basis, as was clear in the relevant announcement, and are due to a certain extent to the collection of revenues related to the previous year (2022) namely:

  1. part of this increase, amounting to approximately 470 million euros, concerns the extension of the deadline for the payment of traffic fees until the end of February 2023 and is counted fiscally in the year 2022,
  2. also an amount of approximately 367 million euros concerns the performance of the income taxes of natural and legal persons of the previous year that were collected in installments until the end of February 2023 and is counted fiscally in the year 2022,
  3. revenue returns that count negatively in the fiscal result appear increased by 636 million euros from the target.

Therefore, from the Budget execution data, it appears that although there is a better performance of tax revenues until July, this is calculated fiscally to 874 million euros and not 2.34 billion euros which is cash outperformance. In fact, at a time when the Stability Program has already included a provision for a better performance of 1.7 billion euros in the whole year in relation to the Budget, as well as an increase in expenses.

Therefore, the sources of the Ministry of Finance emphasize, the implementation of the Budget does not show deviations in relation to the objectives set in the Stability Program, but positive variances on a cash only basis.

“The Government always monitors social problems, but without ignoring the need of a serious fiscal policy which is the foundation of overall economic policy. In this context, and based on the pre-election program of the New Democracy, a series of citizen support measures of 4.4 billion euros with a 4-year horizon were recently adopted. Indicatively, the increases are mentioned- for the first time in 14 years- of salaries and a series of allowances of civil servants, the extension of the market pass until October, the establishment of the youth pass, the exemption for 200,000 vulnerable fellow citizens from their participation in medicines, the reduction by 10% of the ENFIA for properties insured for natural disasters, the extension of the tax-free allowance for dependents etc. The Government will continue on the same line, always combining social sensitivity and fiscal stability” they reported characteristically in Syntagma Square.