Tax tsunami of 1.8 bln euros is drowning Greek society

Europe has prepared a new draft that includes additional austerity steps in the event Athens misses certain budget targets

It seems that the tax hikes of 1.8 billion euros and for those who earn salary of more than 600 euros was only the beginning.

Greece’s European creditors circulated a draft memorandum of understanding on Saturday that includes additional austerity steps in the event Athens misses certain budget targets, according to a copy of the document obtained by Bloomberg News.

The measures will equal the degree by which the targets are missed, as much as 2 percent of GDP and the proposal, which will be discussed in the Eurogroup meeting, seeks legislation that would automatically reduce certain expenditures and increase tax revenue, as Bloomberg mentions.

Apart from tax measures, the document provides state budget cuts for salaries and in addition to the measures of 1. 8 billion euros provided in new social security bill, the draft also provides measures of 3.5 billion euros (2% of GDP) in order to cover the decisions of the Council of State, which rejected the 2012 cuts.

The draft of the new agreement includes, among others, VAT hike at 24%, tax hike on fuel, increase in excise taxes on tobacco and ENFIA tax, consumption tax on coffee and electronic cigarettes, and new tax rates.