No sooner did the government decide to expel Public Revenues General Secretary Katerina Savvaidou from her post, that the tax official announced that she would challenge the decision using all legal means and channels. The cabinet meeting held earlier had resulted in her expulsion and prompted Savvaidou’s anger in a lengthy announcement.

She dismissed the reasons for her dismissal as groundless. The government was accused of inconsistency for its stand against her for extending tax payment deadlines for VAT on TV ads while asking her to extend tax deadlines in the case of VAT on private education.

She said:

“It is infuriating to be accused that through my decision ‘I favoured specific enterprises that are in the heart of corruption.’ It should be noted that the ‘corrupt’ – according to the government – businesses are those that advertise themselves and are therefore burdened with television advertising tax, which make up the bulk of the real economy, employ thousands of tax-paying citizens of this country and have thousands of families depending on them for their survival.”

She accused the government of direct intervention in both the independence of the general secretariat for public revenues and independent justice. Furthermore, she said that the government had ousted her before the decision for her indictment had been finalized.