According to the Ministry of Finance, only for the first year of their implementation, the measures cost 16 billion euros and 8 billion euros for the next three years.
It is recalled that Mr. Kasselakis announced a reduction of the VAT to the lowest rate within the EU, the zeroing of the VAT for basic foodstuffs, a reduction of the VAT rates on other goods and services to 21% from 24% for the basic rate, to 11% from 13% for the reduced and to 5% from 6% for the ultra-reduced VAT rate.
He also announced a change in the tax scale for natural persons, a reduction in insurance contributions by 4.5%, the abolition of the advance payment and a reduction in the rent tax.
“Mr. Kasselakis makes promises without a response. Just as Mr. Tsipras did a few months ago,” the finance ministry noted in its statement, noting that the measures announced by the SYRIZA leader have huge fiscal costs, lack basic costing and planning, while there has not even been a check whether they are harmonized with European legislation.
The Ministry of the Interior also questions the compensatory measures announced by Mr. Kasselakis (increase in dividend taxation, extraordinary contribution of 90% to the surplus profits of oil companies, contribution to banks). In particular, it is emphasized that measures with a fiscal cost of 40 billion over a 4-year horizon will attempt to be covered by revenue collection measures of 3.6 billion euros, which are indeed one-off, while in fact most of the fiscal measures he proposes are permanent .
But even these measures to collect excess profits are in the imagination of SYRIZA. It estimates 900 million from surplus profits of energy companies for the period September 2022-December 2023. Surplus profits that have already been withheld through the mechanism of retention of surplus profits approved by the European Commission and concerning the same period. For refining companies, it estimates collections of 715 million euros in 2023. At the moment, the European framework only allows a tax on the part of profits that exceeds 20% of the average profits of previous years, and 1.2 billion euros have already been collected tax and extraordinary levy in the previous year, when profits were increased. As for the bank levy, he refers SYRIZA to the result of Italy’s failed precedent.
| Cost (in billions). euro) | 1st year | 2nd year | 3 year | 4th year |
| Reduction of VAT on fuel to the lowest allowable rate of the European Union (calculation for 1 year of application) | 1,9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zeroing of the VAT rate in the categories of basic goods, i.e. in flour, bread, cereals, meat, dairy products, eggs, oils, vegetables and of course in all food items for babies and toddlers (calculation for 1 year of application ) | 2,3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VAT reduction at the rates of 21%, 11% and 5% | 2,4 | 2,4 | 2,4 | 2,4 |
| Change in scale of taxation of natural persons | 3,5 | 3,5 | 3,5 | 3,5 |
| Reduction of insurance contributions of 4.5% within three years (assuming 1.5% per year) | 0,6 | 1,3 | 1,9 | 1,9 |
| Abolition of advance tax | 4,2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rent tax reduction | 0,7 | 0,7 | 0,7 | 0,7 |
| Total cost | 16 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
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