Value-added tax

Bulgaria is a preferred destination for Italian citizens who wish to save money by going around local law and register abroad vehicles bought in Italy, local media outlets report.

Low taxes and affordable insurance in Bulgaria seem to be part of the explanation.

 Of the 7.9 bln euros of measures submitted, 7.3 bln concerns taxation and social security contributions

By Prokopis Hatzinikolaou & Sotiris Nikas

A ‘tax raid’ worth eight billion euros over the next 18 months is reportedly the crux of the SYRIZA government’s package of proposals to institutional creditors to seal a cash-for-reforms deal.

Greece's latest proposals to reach a debt deal with its creditors are focused on VAT rates, early retirement measures and tax increases, which aim to cover a good part of the country's budgetary gap, Greek press reported Monday.

The political climate in Brussels may be positive towards the Greek side after the latest proposal submission — or so the early afternoon ‘spin’ held — nevertheless government sources later in the afternoon switched gears and attempted to keep expectations low.

The Greek authorities have prepared and submitted to the negotiation table a well documented proposal on the medium-term fiscal path, the primary balance targets and the required fiscal measures to achieve them.

By Stathis Kousounis

A civil war of sorts appears to have broken out among Greek hoteliers as seven Ionian Sea associations of owners of hotels, rooms and food service enterprises have sent a letter of strong protest to the ministers of economy and finance regarding the favorable value-added tax status that their counterparts on the Aegean islands enjoy.

Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) sources said on Tuesday that they submitted a revised proposal on fiscal targets and the required measures to achieve these, however there has been no response from Brussels yet.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered an angry rebuke to the Greek government on Tuesday and accused it of misleading voters about proposals he had made to help solve the country?s debt crisis.

Progress by the paragraph was in order on Tuesday, as the cash-strapped Greek government finally sent “alternative proposals” to creditors, with an increased VAT rate (12 percent) envisioned for the medium rate.

Another revision was a higher target for the 2015 fiscal year, upped to 0.75 percent of GDP and 1.75 for 2016 — with the former target coming amid an ongoing… recession.