SEV submits 82 proposals for growth
The Federation of Hellenic Enterprises (SEV) has prepared a package of 82 policy proposals for the country to return to growth and will present them at Monday’s general meeting, attended by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, while insisting that the country’s place in the eurozone is non-negotiable.
The “Together for Growth” document calls on the government to implement pledges for an “honorable agreement” that will be based on measures boosting economic growth.
For SEV, Greece’s remainder in the eurozone is a “non-negotiable national social contract” and its proposals form a basic policy blueprint for the reorganization of the economy and for growth. The authors target specific parameters of the economy such as taxation, access to funding, energy policy and the reduction of energy costs, licensing, zoning, justice, competitiveness, market monitoring and competition rules, the legislative and regulatory administration, and jobs in the private sector.
Proposals pertaining to taxation include the implementation of electronic methods for exchanging documents and making payments across the spectrum of transactions involving enterprises and the state, offsetting accumulated losses with the gains of the next decade for tax purposes, a value-added tax rebate within 90 months for law-abiding enterprises, and balancing tax costs for enterprises regarding salaried work, as taxes and contributions are particularly high in Greece.
In the “access to funding” chapter, SEV warns of the risks of the state drawing liquidity from the banking system to cover its cash deficits, thereby depriving the productive economy of vital liquidity, while urging the payment of state debts to companies and the introduction of alternative funding for corporations outside the banking system.
SEV further calls for the introduction of an “administrative director” by the Greek judicial system. This official would have broad responsibilities, with the main purpose of the post being to speed up the resolution of cases that are taken to court.
