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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-05-31
CONTENTS
[01] FinMin Varoufakis outlines plan for Greece's return to borrowing
from markets
[01] FinMin Varoufakis outlines plan for Greece's return to borrowing
from markets
ANA-MPA -- Greece's Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis outlined a plan
that he said will allow Greece to return to borrowing from the markets,
in an interview with the Greek newspaper "Avghi" published on Saturday.
Among others, the plan called for the issue of a low-interest, 30-year
loan from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to replace the debt
currently held by the European Central Bank (ECB), while simultaneously
restructuring the rest of Greece's debt. According to Varoufakis, the
government's priority is a "combination of debt restructuring, investment
injections and reforms that go beyond the inhumane practice of cutting
pensions, benefits and wages." Such a combination, he added, will help
Greek society escape the 'vortex' of a self-reinforcing crisis of debt
and recession. Varoufakis slammed the ENFIA property tax introduced by
the previous government, saying it was a "hideous" tax that needed to be
abolished. "As long as it is not abolished we all feel accountable to the
Greek people. But its abolition, even if gradual, will take place when
the negotiation has ended and we can find equivalent taxes from large
property taxation and from gradated taxation of incomes that are now
evading," he said. The finance minister was also critical of a position
expressed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who
called for an additional 1.8 billion euros to be raised by increasing VAT.
"In an economy in the throes of deflation and debt, with a tax system that
burdens the have-nots, how can we increase public revenues by 1 pct of GDP
via indirect taxation without causing even greater damage to the economy's
engine, to production and the markets," Varoufakis said. Replying to
those speculating about his possible resignation, meanwhile, Varoufakis
stressed that "none of us are going to throw down our shield".
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