Trusty kiosks to shut in tobacco tax protest
In most places in Greece, especially in the country’s cities, you can find a kiosk open for most of the day and a good part of the night but this will not be the case tomorrow, as the kiosk owners’ union has decided to stage a 24-hour strike in protest at the government’s decision to raise tobacco duties as part of the tax reform bill that was passed through Parliament last week. The kiosk owners argue that the new tax reduces their profit margins and jeopardizes the future of the 40,000 kiosks around the country, which, their union says, provide a living for 100,000 families. The tax on cigarettes has risen from 73.5 percent to 81.4 percent and the kiosk owners believe that this will eat into their profits. They are asking the government to change the amount of taxation to allow a profit margin that makes their businesses viable.
