Why ENFIA is at the center of debate

Speaking at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) on Saturday, New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirmed his plans, as revealed to Skai TV earlier this month, to reduce the ENFIA property tax by 30 percent in his first two years of power.

It is no surprise Mitsotakis chose this out of so many taxes to demonstrate his intention to scale back the magnitude of levies taxpayers must pay. ENFIA has become synonymous with the extra tax burden Greeks have to bear on their journey out of the country's long economic crisis.

In its original form, ENFIA was an emergency tax that was levied through electricity bills. It was introduced in September 2011 by then finance minister Evangelos Venizelos and approved by just 154 MPs. Venizelos turned to the levy at the last minute in order to plug a hole in the budget. The tax was originally slated to bring in around 2 billion...