Investment incentives bill is coming
The new investment incentives bill that is soon set to reach Parliament will include three or four basic principles, will be far simpler than the one which currently applies, and, “above all, will put an end to the errors of previous governments that did not safeguard the subsidies required, leading to state debts to investors,” according to the framework explained by Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis during a radio interview that aired on Sto Kokkino on Monday.
The minister added that the new bill will place emphasis on sectors where Greece has a comparative advantage, such as tourism, advanced technology and others, and will incorporate additional incentives (besides the usual subsidies), such as the possibility of loans through European funding tools.
The new draft law will further focus on bolstering youth entrepreneurship and support for small and medium-sized enterprises, and issue incentives for investments from abroad, through the creation of a stable (but not privileged) tax status for seven years, until the investment has paid off.
Stathakis said that the drafting process will be completed by end-January, as the bill is currently in the legal preparation stage. He added that the better-than-expected economic performance of the last quarter of 2015 could pave the way for a faster return to growth, possibly as early as in the first half of 2016.
