By Chrysostomos Tsoufis

Having successfully concluded the negotiation with Brussels for the additional fiscal space (around €500 million) that the government will finally have at its disposal in 2025 for interventions to support households and businesses, the prime minister went up to the Thessaloniki with a list of 36 interventions as part of his speech tonight. 36 interventions that will concern taxation, the housing issue, climate change, children, health and the armed forces, as well as dealing with everyday problems.

Central location at prime ministerial announcements they will certainly have the measures to permanently stimulate incomes which are, after all, for the government the best antidote to the temporary price increases in products and services. In this context, the announcement is expected:

-The reduction of insurance contributions by one unit
– The abolition of the pretense fee
-Corrections to the presumptive way of taxation of the self-employed which are expected to reduce their taxation
– New pension increase of 2.5% (It remains doubtful whether a reduction of the Solidarity Contribution will be announced. Officials of the Ministry of Labor told that it will be purely a decision of the Prime Minister)
-A new increase in the minimum wage
-Increasing the deduction for the one-time payment of income tax

A series of increases and changes in allowances will also contribute to the strengthening of incomes such as:

-The increase of the child allowance by 20% with 530,000 beneficiaries
-The increase in the housing allowance with 238,000 beneficiaries
– The increase of the Minimum Guaranteed Income with 185,000 beneficiaries
-Changes are also expected to be made to the unemployment benefit. On the one hand, it will be front-loaded, that is, the beneficiary will initially receive a larger part of it so that the shock of the change in his lifestyle from the loss of his job can be more adequately dealt with, and every quarter it will be reduced. In addition, its amount will be linked to the salaries and insurance years of the employees.
-Those with three children are expected to receive the same treatment as those with many children in some benefits from the State

There is no government official who does not mention the need to address the housing crisis especially in recent days. Many of the Prime Minister’s announcements will concern the roof such as:

-The MY HOME 2 program. The age limit increases to 49 years and was under discussion with the Commission and the expansion of the income criteria from €16,000 to €20,000 for the single with corresponding increases for families with children.
-The reformed RENOVATE-RENT program. The subsidy increases from €4,000 to €6,000 with the possibility of prepayment
– The start of the tenders for the Social Compensation
-Regulations to limit short-term rental. In the areas considered saturated (centre of Athens and Thessaloniki, islands) the issuance of new licenses will be prohibited without affecting the existing ones. No time limits are expected to be set.
-Incentives to bring currently closed homes to the market. A three-year exemption from rent tax will be given to those landlords who open up their existing properties for long-term letting. The tax exemption also concerns those who will withdraw their properties from short-term rental and direct them to long-term rental.

For labor, initiatives are expected to strengthen sectoral and regional collective agreements. Incentives are also expected to make it easier for young people under 30, women and people over 55 to find work, which are the three categories that currently face the most difficulties in the labor market.

For the State and according to the bill of the Ministry of the Interior which is already in public consultation, an expansion of the productivity bonus is foreseen. Civil servants who achieve the targets set for them will be paid an extra two salaries.

Especially for health personnel and as a measure to attract professionals to the barren areas, the monthly allowance is tripled to €300.
Especially for 18 specialties such as pathologists, anesthesiologists and paediatricians, the allowance is increased sixfold to €600/month. This measure will also be combined with initiatives of an institutional nature such as the increase in points, the permits to participate in conferences and the reduction of the length of stay at the border.

Pensioners with a personal difference, uninsured seniors, the disabled and beneficiaries of the minimum guaranteed income and other OPECA benefits, will share in December at least €250m in the context of the solidarity allowance which will be financed by the extraordinary levy imposed on the refineries. The amount is expected to increase if the very good execution of the budget so far continues.