According to the latest survey conducted by the Institute of Small Enterprises (IME/GSEVEE) in cooperation with MARC Company, six out of ten Greek households are unable to pay their monthly utility bills (electricity, water), taxes and bank loan tranches.
In order to weather the current crisis, Greek households are spending between 45 to 75 Euros less than they usually would on food, while about 50% of them are asking for money from their friends and relatives.
The sample included 601 households in the prefecture of Attica, and the survey was conducted during the third and fourth week of December 2011. The aim of the survey was to discover the impact of the economic crisis on the income and expenditures of households.
The findings of the survey have shown that Greeks have been forced to cut as much as they possibly can to make ends meet, while wages continue to be severely cut.
64.2% of the households surveyed cut expenditures in order to be able cover basic needs, while 13.5% of Greek households do not make enough money to even cover their basic needs (food, utilities like electricity, water, bank loans). It is estimated that any further price increase in basic goods would disproportionally affect the domestic budget.
90% of the households surveyed reject Value Added Tax hikes in basic goods (increases from 13% to a possible 18-19%) even if it would mean that the current 23% VAT would be lowered.
74.9% of the households surveyed expect further income cuts in 2012, while 91.1% have stopped buying shoes and clothing.
The GSEVEE survey estimates that the imposition of a common tax rate would be disastrous for the Greek people, while it also emphasizes the urgency of immediately reducing the Value Added Tax from 13% to 9% and from 23% to 19%.
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