Kasselakis to food sector representatives: New tax plan punishes businesses, consumers alike
The government's new taxation plan punishes both business owners and consumers, SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Stefanos Kasselakis told food sector representatives in an online meeting on Friday.
Kasselakis spoke with 'Estiasi Greece', a movement of 43 food sector associations that will be affected by changes in taxation. The food sector includes 80,000 businesses and half a million workers directly, not to mention indirectly involved businesses, the main opposition leader said, all of whom play a key role in Greece's GDP.
Prepaying taxes when you do not know the coming year's revenue is not feasible for food businesses, nor are owners able to borrow from banks under the horizontal (across-the-board) measures, Kasselakis added.
Food business owners said they "refuse pass the increases on to consumers; consumption has dropped, and if we raise prices more, we will shut down."