Charitsis slams new taxation bill in first plenary speech as New Left leader

New Left parliamentary group leader Alexis Charitsis criticized the New Democracy government while addressing a plenary debate on the new bill on taxation and tax evasion on Wednesday.

Addressing the plenary session in his first speech as New Left leader, Charitsis pointed out that "what the country needs most is a fair tax reform based on the newly available possibilities of digitization, artificial intelligence and the modernization of the taxation system itself, pursued within a long-term plan", he stressed.

But the government is instead doing the exact opposite of what it promised right before the national elections, he added, "which is to introduce a horizontal taxation filter on incomes that are by definition fluctuating", in reference to the broad range of different types of freelancers.

Charitsis also cited the Greek parliament's Scientific Council, which on Tuesday expressed reservations over the criteria used to calculate freelancers' tax in the new bill on tax evasion.

Calling the new bill the epitomy of unfairness, "as it pays no mind to those who should be paying much more [in taxes]," Charitsis added that New Left favors "redistributing the tax burden of direct taxes in favor of the weakest, through fighting tax evasion and the excessive profitability of the powerful elites."