Break with the past

The conservative-led government has finally announced a new policy that could breathe life into the country’s real economy.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras made a very significant step yesterday after he announced a scheme that will allow private companies to offset the VAT they owe the state against the returns the state owes them. The option, the prime minister said, can also be applied by firms to settle debts they owe to each other, meaning they can subtract the VAT from the total owed.

The move will allow a number of problematic firms, which were until now faced with bankruptcy, to survive.

Also, on a different – but not merely symbolic – level, the new measure breaks with a long-standing pattern of the state being allergic, if not openly hostile, to private entrepreneurship.

The Greek state has come to terms with the simple fact that it too must do its fair share in creating a healthy business environment.