Tax breaks and benefits to boost low incomes planned by government

Further tax reductions and measures to support those on low incomes will be among the first items of legislation to be tabled in parliament by the new government, possibly as early as next week, according to sources but also statements made by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and new Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis.

They will include a series of election campaign pledges, which share a common thread of increasing available income at a time of high inflationary pressure.

The draft bill will most likely be passed before Parliament closes for the summer holidays in August, with the majority of the measures concerning 2024. The measures are expected to cost two billion euros and affect some three million households and will include an extension of the market pass, possibly until the end of 2023 depending on whether it is needed.

The government's aim is for the 2023 primary surplus to remain above 1 pct of GDP and to have a solid base, so that in 2024 things can unfold more gradually as there is a target for a surplus of 2 pct.

Among the measures likely to be included in the finance ministry's bill are: an increase of the tax-free allowance for tax-payers with children; a 10 pct reduction of ENFIA for houses insured against natural disasters; changes in the public-sector wage scale; an increase in the minimum guaranteed income by 8 pct; an increase in maternity benefit for farmers and freelance professionals; zero contribution to medicines for pensioners on low incomes; the Youth Pass benefit for young people reaching the age of 18 and 19; and an increase in the child benefit for civil servants.