The majority of Greeks expressed their strong disapproval of the government’s new draft tax bill, according to a survey conducted by pollsters OpinionPoll covering the greater Athens metropolitan area.

The survey, commissioned by the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, revealed that respondents expressed overwhelming opposition to the government’s tax bill, which is aimed at curbing tax evasion and tax avoidance, citing high costs of living as the number one concern.

Rejection of Tax Measures

Specifically, those asked conveyed the following views regarding the government’s tax reform:

  • 70.8 percent believe that the government, through the Tax Reform, will not effectively curb overall tax evasion, while 25.9 percent hold an opposing view. Among professionals and business owners, these figures are 67 percent and 30.4 percent, respectively.
  • 84.1 percent think that large incomes will by and large evade taxation, while only 11.8 percent believe that higher-income earners will be taxed fairly. Among professionals and business owners, these percentages are 83.6 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
  • 82 percent argue that the state should identify those genuinely evading taxes, while 15.5% suggest taking sweeping measures against all freelance professionals. Among professionals and business owners, the figures are 86 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively.
  • 50.2 percent believe that tax evasion will be effectively curbed by utilizing all available digital tools and providing incentives to consumers for collecting receipts, while 47.6 percent hold the opposite view. Among professionals and business owners, these percentages are 50.5 percent and 47%, respectively.
  • Regarding the new government measures for taxing freelance professionals, 46.6 percent have a negative opinion, while 43 percent view them positively. Among professionals and business owners, these percentages are 66 percent and 28.9 percent, respectively.

Cost of Living Tops Citizen Concerns

The high cost of living overwhelmingly emerges as the primary concern for citizens, with 69.2 percent ranking it as their top concern.

This is followed by a large margin by Economy/Development at 28.4 percent, Crime/Violence at 18 percent, the state of Healthcare at 14.2 percent, and Unemployment at 11.1 percent, completing the top five concerns. Lower down the list are National Issues/Greek-Turkish relations at 10.1 percent, Immigration/Refugees at 9.3 percent, the state of Education at 9.3 percent, the functioning of the Political System at 7.6 percent, Corruption at 7.2 percent, Natural Disasters at 7.2 percent, and State Pathologies at 6.2 percent.