As if it was not enough that supermarket prices get higher each and every week, now new Value Added Tax hikes will skyrocket thousands of products – food items not excluded – and services making daily life even more expensive. According to a proposal made by the Greek government to creditors, the high V.A.T. of 23% will go even higher to 24%.

The new hike will be imposed as of 1. July 2016 and are expected to bring additional 400-500 million euro per year into the state cash registers.

The VAT hike will affect packaged food items like pasta, rice, coffee, flour, chocolate and other as well as beverages and juices.

Did you know that Olives have 23% V.A.T.?Because it is proceeded food…

Already in summer 2015, processed food and packaged food items skyrocketed when the European creditors imposed a 10% VAT-hike, i.e. from 13% to 23%, and households saw their wallets empty in zero time and thus for less products.

Of course, also all household goods will go up, Also affected from 24% will be food services like restaurants, catering etc, public transport and taxi fares, services by writers, composers and other artists, home repairs, flowers and plants, sewage services, and pet food. I suppose, also all other items essential for households like detergents, toiletries and other stuff that has now 23% VAT will go Up! Up! Up! as well as clothes, shoes and everything else that has now 23% VAT.

The “measure” is considered as an “equivalent measure” that will balance last year’s exception of V.A.T for private schools and gambling, will avoid VAT-hikes in water and electricity bills and thus fill a major gap of 1% of GDP for the years 2017 and 2018.

Tomato plant 23% ⇒ 24%, fresh tomato in open market or supermarket 13%, fresh but packed fresh tomato & canned tomatoes 23% ⇒ 24%

The daily life for Greeks is soon to be more expensive anyway, as extra fees are expected to be imposed in mobile communication, fuel, natural gas and whatever else people use to avoid living in the famous Stone Age.

Indirect taxes are despicable, anyway, as they affect everyone independently of whether one has the ability to pay or not. Indirect taxes and their hikes once per year in food items, where average wages start at 250-350 euro for part-times and go up 600-800 euro for full time jobs are 3 times despicable!

Not without my Greek salad!

“Direct or indirect taxes as Equivalent Measure” is the magic formula for all governments of every possible color and ideology since 2010, to hide their reluctance to proceed with “expenditure cuts”. And then these “expenditure cutes” are applied, they are always in the wrong sector: cuts in the Health instead of Defense, over ngiht close down of State Broadcaster ERT instead of getting rid of thousands lazy civil servants.

PS thank Goodness, I don’t like pasta and rice, but I buy fresh potatoes (13%) and bread (13% – unless packed in supermarket 23%)