Gatherings in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Crete and Volos
Protest rallies in many areas of the country are currently being held by citizens expressing their reaction to the government’s tax measures.
A crowd of people has gathered in the center of Athens, outside the Ministry of Financein Syntagma Square, while at the same time a dynamic gathering is also taking place in the center of Thessaloniki.
Large protest rally in Thessaloniki
Same picture in the center of Thessaloniki. According to thesitval.gr, the taxi drivers in Thessaloniki are on strike today, as they participate in the 24-hour strike of POIATA, reacting to the tax bill.
The taxi drivers gathered at 9:30 in the morning on Michail Psellou street and then marched with the taxis in the city center and headed to the Deputy Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace, where they submitted a joint resolution with other freelancers of the city.
As stated by the president of the Thessaloniki Taxi Owners Association, Klimis Leontis, “It is an unfair tax bill submitted by the government. He asks each freelancer for an imputed tax of around 3,000 euros, and this, as you understand in the small layers of freelancers, cannot be passed, cannot be paid. Freelancers are quite in debt. Ten years of crisis, three years of corona virus, health crisis, wars, now we are going to straighten up and now the imputed taxes are coming to be paid without calculating anything and horizontally. We are reacting today, we are starting the first strike mobilization and there will be other mobilizations if the government does not want to correct anything of what they have submitted in the bill”.
The strike began at 5 am on Wednesday and will last until 5 am on Thursday.
Gatherings in Patras as well
A protest rally against the new tax bill took place this morning in Georgiou Square in Patras, which was attended by self-employed professionals, traders, members of the Technical Chamber, the Economic Chamber, the Bar Association, the Federation of Professional Craft and Trade Associations, etc.
At the same time, as part of the mobilization, the city’s shops remained closed by decision of the association, while the owners of the taxis carried out a motorcade from the center of Patras to the offices of the Decentralized Administration.
During the gathering, the president of the governing committee of the TEE of Western Greece, Vassilis Aivalis, emphasized, among other things, that “the government has once again targeted the easy target, i.e. the self-employed, by applying an anachronistic and horizontal taxation measure”.
For his part, the president of the trade association, Costas Zafeiropoulos, noted that “Greek trade will de-Hellenize and disappear.”
After the gathering followed a march through the central streets of Patras.
Crete
On Wednesday morning, a rally was held in Eleftheria Square, in which the Bar Association of Heraklion, the Federation of Trade Associations of Crete and the local trade associations, OEVENI, the Pharmaceutical Association, the Dental Association, the Chamber of Commerce, taxi owners etc.
As the representatives of the agencies point out, the government’s announcements on the new tax measures, with the introduction of presumptive taxable income, seriously affect freelancers, scientists and small and medium-sized businesses, since in the name of supposedly fighting tax evasion, they are promoted horizontally and as therefore unfair measures and the practice is adopted “better few than many, than many than few”.
Dynamic concentration in Volos as well
A dynamic gathering, with satisfactory participation, was held this morning in Volos by scientists, freelancers and traders, reports magnesianews.gr, decorated with a loader and a taxi and holding banners, voiced their opposition to the new tax bill.
As they support the horizontal measures he foresees, which will only bring disaster to the professionals, who will be asked to pay an additional tax of 151% from 2024, after 10 years of memorandum crisis, energy, pandemic and with the wave of precision that exists and it will force them to close.
*With information from: APE, thestival, cretalive, magnesianews, thebest
Source: Skai
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