Housing and demographics as two of the country’s biggest challenges for the coming years, Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis highlighted at the 21st Athens Tax Forum 2025 of the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce. The Minister announced new interventions to support citizens who are struggling to meet increasing housing costs.

Pierrakakis recalled the interventions that have already been launched, such as the reimbursement of rent to 80% of tenants and the reform of the rent scale, and stressed that targeted actions will follow in the next period to further strengthen housing policy.

“We fully understand that housing is a very, very important issue. There is a segment of the population that is struggling to meet rent. It is a very large part of the monthly budget of many families in our country,” he stressed.

At the same time, the Minister referred to the largest direct tax cut in the post-independence period, stressing that “this is the most effective and the best way to directly support the income of citizens”. He also referred to the demographic dimension of the new tax reform: “Demography is not only about births, it is also about supporting the Region and the integration of young people into the labour market.”

Finally, referring to the country’s development model, he noted that “Greece is now a country on the move,” noting the importance of cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

During the discussion with the President of the Hellenic American Chamber, G. Sarakakis and the President of the Chamber’s Tax Committee I. Stavropoulos, the Minister pointed out the following:

On the new tax reform

“We are currently discussing the bill of the TIF measures which constitutes the largest direct tax cut in history.

The total amount of the package is 1.76 billion euros, it is a tax reform with demographic characteristics and a focus on the middle class and the whole territory, with a median cost of 2.5 billion euros. A package with a strong growth character which is reflected in the draft budget.

This is the most effective and the best way to directly support the income of citizens. For us there was no dilemma between direct and indirect taxes. We believe that from the beginning we had to go directly to the citizens, directly to each family so that we could provide as much effective support as possible, and it is something that we will discuss in detail in the House in the coming days.”

On Demographics

“We are pleased because we have managed for the first time to make the whole of the TIF measures part of a very solid narrative of a single change, the largest direct tax cut in the post-independence period, but with a criterion, social and reformist, which comes and steps on the existential problem of the country for us for the next decades, which is none other than the demographic.

Demography is not just about births. Demographics is also about getting young people into the labour market faster. Demographic is also the support of the Region – the fact that the ENFIA in two years will be zero in the villages is demographic in the terms in which we are discussing it.”

We want more investment from the US – great interest in assets and infrastructure

“Greece-US bilateral relations are stronger than ever before. This is deepening and strengthening all the time. The truth is objectively that Greece for the IMF is not what it was ten years ago – let alone fifteen years ago.

So, in general, Greece’s model is one of movement and positive forward momentum. This is recognized by everyone. I would say to you, overall, Greece is perceived also at the European level as a country on the move.”

We want to have more cross-border mergers and acquisitions. And if you look at what we have done as a country in the last seven to eight months, we are showing our partners in the European Union more generally that we are absolutely open to this. And that is a message not only within the European Union, it is certainly a message to the other side of the Atlantic. We want more investment. It’s not just a slogan no phrase, we mean it and we intend to do as much as we can.”

The 3+1 recipe: digitisation, sectoral policies, valorisation of public assets and a European strategy

“There are growth opportunities that Greece can exploit. I would say that there is a three plus one recipe. One part is to remove unnecessary bureaucracy even from a heavy Greek state. Digitisation has largely achieved that.

A second piece is sectoral policies on things where you can have an obvious growth footprint. There are several examples, either with structural advantage, where the country has the infrastructure, or we are talking about real estate, or sectors that have an obvious infrastructure as a country. The silver economy is something like that.

And, thirdly, the utilization of public assets which has many aspects. Whether it is the utilization of the property of the Superfund, or whether it is the assets that we are talking about with international investors such as those that were discussed in the United States. And the plus one I would say is the European strategy.”

Recovery Fund – any funding to be linked to a reform

“And that’s where this discussion comes in, and where this discussion of how you manage the funding that you have in your hands comes in. I personally can tell you that I am a fan of the Recovery Fund architecture. Especially in relation to the old NSF architecture. Why? Because when the Recovery Fund came in, it ‘forced’ us, every minister, every government official, to link funding to a reform.”