Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos estimates that the text of the agreement with creditors will be ready by Tuesday and it will be signed by Easter time.
According to the finance ministry, the technical teams have agreed on the income tax and pension reforms issues. There was no mention of bad loans, a thorny issue that remains unresolved. Nevertheless, ministry officials say they are optimistic that the deal will close by Easter. At the same time, the officials dismiss scenarios that negotiations might delay.
The finance ministry stresses that both sides want to complete talks on time. Regarding differences between the two sides, ministry officials say that there are differences in every negotiation but both sides can concede. The European Commission and the International Monetary Fund have already prepared the drafts of the Memorandum of Understanding and the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies.
There are differences between the drafts of the EC and the IMF. In the Commission’s draft there is the estimate that measures equaling 3% of GDP would bring a 3.5% primary surplus in 2018. The IMF estimates that the measures would bring 2.5% of GDP and lead to a 1.5% primary surplus in 2018.
According to the finance ministry, 99.8% of salaried employees and pensioners (with annual income 10,000-22,000) will pay an average 80 euros more on income tax compared to last year. Those with yearly income 28,000-43,000 will pay about 400 euros less in taxes. Only those with incomes that exceed 50,000 euros will be taxed 5% more compared to last year.
Regarding businesses and freelancers, 92% of them who make up to 32,000 euros per year will pay an average of 700 euros less on income tax.
Regarding pensions, the ministry says that there won’t be any cuts on main pensions. However, the two sides agreed on a national pension of 384 euros after 20 years of work and 346 euros after 15 years of work. The two sides still have differences on the calculation of supplementary pensions.
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