Actions crammed in multi-bill
A total of 140 austerity measures, reforms and other actions will be included in the mammoth omnibus bill the government will table in Parliament. The list Kathimerini has seen includes 77 regulations that must be legislated in record time and the adoption of another 58 that do not necessitate legislation. The other five prior actions have already been implemented.
The list of actions concerns a very broad spectrum of activities: It ranges from the voting of the measures for 2019-2020 regarding cuts to pensions and the tax discount, to the opening up of the profession of loading-machine operators, and from the Land Register (Ktimatologio) to the funding of political parties.
The prior actions required by the country’s creditors and included in the list are split into four main categories: fiscal (51 actions), credit stability (12), structural policies to boost competitiveness and growth (65) and public administration (12).
The fiscal measures include the adoption of parametric measures to meet the 2018 target. Although it is not spelt out, the target will be a primary surplus of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product, and that will require 450 million euros’ worth of measures.
The fiscal side will also incorporate the new social security reform to fetch 1 percent of GDP in 2019, the reduction of the tax discount to the effect of 1 percent of GDP from 2020, the rationalization of healthcare expenditure, and the countermeasures.
If the taxation countermeasures are implemented in their entirety, they are supposed to offset the reduction of the tax discount, and consist of cuts to the lower income tax rate and the solidarity levy, a small decrease in the Single Property Tax (ENFIA) and a reduction to the corporate tax.
The countermeasures on the expenditure front are projected to offset the pension cuts. They include the rent allowance, school meals and other social benefits, high-quality public projects and active policies in favor of employment.
