The fact that tax measures are announced, changed and then announced anew, tells us just one thing: that tax reform in Greece is not the product of extensive research and study into the country’s fiscal reality, but a knee-jerk reaction to difficult fiscal circumstances.

The constant revisions show that the measures were not considered from all the different angles that should be taken into account when formulating tax policy (viability, effectiveness, social justice, development goals, etc.), but were haphazardly drawn up and prematurely announced. The sole purpose of these measures is to patch up the holes in public finances that could again make Greece subject to the European Commission’s excessive deficit procedure.

The country needs a consistent tax policy and measures of a permanent nature that will both bolster the state’s finances and serve the country’s long-term development prospects as a whole. These half measures not only do nothing for the future, but may also harm the short-term goal of increasing the state’s revenues.