Greek Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said the government will present a package of measures at the Thessaloniki International Fair that will be smaller than the packages promised by PASOK and Elas, arguing that opposition figures have not learned from the past. He said the government was moving forward on the basis of two main pillars: growing the economy and curbing tax evasion, from which the state's social dividend payments derive.
Hatzidakis made the comments in an interview on Greek broadcaster SKAI, discussing the announcements Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to make at the fair. He said that because this year's fair falls further from the next national election, the prime minister's address would carry a broader, more programmatic character than in previous years.
Prices, small businesses and family support
Hatzidakis said high prices would receive major emphasis in the government's announcements. He listed support for the middle class, small and medium-sized businesses and freelance professionals as a second priority, and support for families and vulnerable citizens as a third.
The Thessaloniki International Fair is an annual trade exhibition in northern Greece where the sitting prime minister traditionally delivers a keynote speech laying out the government's economic policy for the year ahead.
Crackdown on tax evasion
Hatzidakis said the government had taken more steps to combat tax evasion than any government since Greece's return to democracy. He said that during his own tenure as finance minister, he had proposed and secured the adoption of 11 separate initiatives to curb tax evasion, which he said had produced two benefits: greater social fairness and higher state revenue.
Presumptive income for freelancers
Turning to the system of presumptive taxation applied to freelance professionals, Hatzidakis explained that the underlying aim was for the average freelancer to pay roughly what an employee earning the minimum wage pays. He said Greece currently has 714,000 registered freelance professionals, of whom 324,000 fall outside the presumption because they declare income above it. The remaining 387,000 fall within the presumption, and last year declared an average of 302 euros a month, he said.
Hatzidakis said the state recognises it needs to raise that presumed amount, a step he acknowledged taxpayers could dispute.
Digital tools for tax compliance
Hatzidakis said the presumptive income system, introduced three years ago, had gone hand in hand with major steps toward digitising tax transactions, giving the state more tools to monitor compliance. He pointed to the linking of card payment terminals with cash registers, the myDATA electronic bookkeeping platform, electronic invoicing and digital delivery notes as measures introduced since then.
He said all of these digital tools would be taken into account going forward, adding that the goal was not to keep the presumptive system in place indefinitely but to use new technology to harmonise tax practices over time.
Cost of living
On high prices, Hatzidakis said the issue remains one of the most significant problems facing Greek households, describing it as a pan-European phenomenon with Greece close to the European average. He said it was important to remember the situation before 2021, when inflation was not an issue and the same government was already in power.
He said Greece's Development Ministry had begun talks with industry, particularly the food industry, and predicted further price reductions from September onward. He also said he expected interesting developments regarding electricity prices.
Political landscape ahead of the fair
Asked about the political implications of Alexis Tsipras's presence at the fair, Hatzidakis said that whether the former prime minister spoke before or after Mitsotakis, he would draw more attention, as he has done since first appearing on Greece's political scene.
Hatzidakis closed by describing the challenge facing the government as it seeks a third consecutive four-year term in office, calling this unusual both in Greece and elsewhere. He said the government needed, first, to proceed seriously and avoid pre-election temptations; second, to ask voters for a realistic vote of hope and prospects; and third, to put forward a serious agenda that would pleasantly surprise voters and show that the party is rightly the one Greece's hopes can rest on.
