Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras underlined the importance of re-examining tax exemptions, explaining that “the country needs revenue.”
Addressing a conference organized by ‘Kyklos Ideon’ think tank, Stournaras reiterated that the black economy in Greece exceeds 40 billion euros, stressing the need to re-examine the existing tax exemptions and whether they concern truly vulnerable people.
He also stated that the revenues expected to be collected by the State from the sale of the shares held by the Financial Stability Fund, even though they are small compared to those allocated for their rescue, are not so small taking into account the benefits from the PSI and the high dividends distributed by the Bank of Greece.
The BoG governor said that Greece “was on the brink (of disaster) and now constitutes an international success story.”
Stournaras recommended the continuation of a “prudent fiscal policy” in order for the budget to double its primary surplus to 2% of GDP in 2024. He also said that the public debt is falling rapidly and estimated that real wages will increase this year.
Regarding the course of interest rates, he predicted that if inflation falls below 3% on a permanent basis in August 2024, the European Central Bank (ECB) is likely to proceed with a small reduction in its key interest rates.
