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Athens News Agency: News in English, 11-09-23Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] More than 500mln euros in purchases from neighbour statesAMNA / More than 1,500 enterprises in the manufacturing and services sectors have relocated to neighboring countries in the last 12 months, while the number of Greeks crossing the borders for shopping surpass 600,000 on a monthly basis and this number rises steadily, an announcement by the National Confederation of Greek Commerce (ESEE) said on Thursday.The group noted that this trend was causing an uncontrollable bleeding to the Greek market. The Confederation said that one in four enterprises based near the country’s borders have closed down, (AMNA) while several businessmen were considering their relocation abroad. ESEE stressed that a strict austerity policy implemented in Greece not only it does not offer fiscal results but at the same time it was leading the productive middle class to destruction. ESEE noted that cross-border illegal trade and smuggling were strongly hitting the northern Greece and border regions of Macedonia, Thrace, the northern Aegean and the Dodecanese islands in the southeastern Aegean, with more than 500 million euros of Greek capital spent in Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM) and Turkey for the purchase of consumer goods annually. These purchases focuses on clothing, footwear, cigarettes, petrol, dental services and car services, while many people were also buying their weekly food supplies from neighboring countries. AMNA [02] Hotel prices down 7 percent in AugustAMNA / Hotel prices in Greece fell in August, as hotel enterprises sought to respond to intensified competition in the market, a report by Trivago - a hotel price website - stated on Friday.Trivago said the price of a double-bed room in a Greek hotel cost an average (AMNA) 112 euros in August, down 7.0 pct compared with the same period in 2010. The biggest price declines were recorded in Mykonos (-51 pct to 140 euros), Naxos (-43 pct to 62 euros), Skopelos (-40 pct to 71 euros) and Perissa (Santorini) (-39 pct to 58 euros). On the other hand, Thessaloniki (+23 pct to 102 euros), Athens (+15 pct to 105 euros) and Kalambaka (+13 pct to 87 euros), recorded the biggest percentage increases in the month. The cost of an overnight stay in a hotel room in Europe cost an average 136 euros in August, while the cost in a hotel room in Istanbul was 146 euros (up 36 pct from August 2010). AMNA [03] Gov't: Surcharge on property a permament tax measureAMNA / Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Thursday announced in parliament that an amendment will allow extension of an extraordinary surtax on real estate via the new taxation system beyond the initial two years envisaged for the measure.announced that the amendment will also make the long-term unemployed exempt from the tax, with certain provisos relating to income and property values. The tax will also be levied in 2012, after which it will be incorporated into the national tax system, following a re-examination of the taxation rates.Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |