SEV and GSEE groups consulted on economy
Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis met with workers’ and industrialists’ union groups yesterday in an attempt to find a formula that may help insulate the Greek economy against adverse international conditions as concerns grow about the economic downturn. At a meeting with industrialists’ union group SEV and GSEE, the country’s largest worker group, Alogoskoufis said rising oil prices and a slowdown in global growth are pushing up domestic consumer prices and weighing on Greece’s economic expansion. The adverse conditions are also believed to be having a negative impact on external trade and tourism. SEV suggested that the ministry should introduce a capital gains tax on profits earned from staff stock options and pass on the money to a fund aimed at supporting low-income earners. Sources said the government has been considering the introduction of such a tax as the Greek economy appears to be headed for a bigger slowdown than first thought. «The international crisis is more serious than what we thought just three weeks ago,» a senior government official said.
