The gap between Greece’s lenders and the government widens, while the pressure for higher taxes rises since the government excludes any cuts in government spending. But, so long as both sides fail to reach an agreement, it seems that Greece will be forced to accept both tax hikes and cuts in  government spending.

The IMF reportedly submitted a new counterproposal before leaving Athens provided tax-free threshold at 4,500-5,000 euros, instead of 9,100-9,300 that government has proposed. It should be noted that initially the institutions were asking for a tax-free threshold of 7,000-8,000 euros, while today the threshold reaches 9,550 euros.

Furthermore, it is estimated that revenue from new income tax on 12,000 annual income would reach 1,3 billion euros. About 400,000-500,000 taxpayers earning 1,300-1,500 euros per month will be called to pay the price seeing their income shrinking once more.

With the new special levy, as well as with income tax, the government is trying to save tax-free threshold, increasing significantly, though, the tax rates up to 50% for income tax and 10% for the special contribution.