Microsoft Word - MoU annotated by YV.docx - mou-annotated-by-yv.pdf
▻https://varoufakis.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/mou-annotated-by-yv.pdf
Le troisième mémorandum commenté par Y. Varoufakis - très long et très intéressant. Outre l’augmentation de la TVA, la baisse des retraites, les privatisations des services, électricité, eau, transports, etc, les expulsions facilitées de logement et liquidations de commerces endettés sur ordre des banques, on y trouve un #revenu_minimum_garanti sur le modèle néo-libéral (destiné à remplacer par une allocation très basse les allocations déjà disparues ou en voie de disparition).
– roll out a basic social safety net in the form of a Guaranteed Minimum
Income (GMI) [which would be great, except that not one fresh euro will be
made available for the GMI program whose funding will be siphoned off
existing benefits provided by the Greek state, e.g. child benefit }
–{Independance of the tax administration and the statistical office from political interference was also our government’s policy. Except that we were
equally keen to ensure the tax authorities’ independence from
corporate interests and ELSTAT’s independence from the troika. And we proposed to do this by placing both independent authorities under the purview of Parliament. This MoU foreshadows that Parliament will have a cosmetic role
– that the real bosses of tax administrators and ELSTAT are the Euro Working Group, i.e. the troika, Eurostat, and the local vested interests who are mostly responsible behind corruption and rent seeking.}
– Success will require the sustained implementation of agreed policies over many years.[i.e. the Greek Parliament’s sovereignty is rescinded while it remains insolvent, which will be a long, long time as long as the Eurogroup refuses to discuss serious debt relief.]
– Furthermore, as a prior action the Government will adopt legislation to:
• raise revenues :
a) gradually abolish the refund of excise tax on diesel oil for farmers in two equal steps in October 2015 and October 2016
[i.e. do untold damage to the primary sector which had a chance of
becoming an engine of growth through proper marketing of the
Mediterranean diet, niche organics etc.];
b) increase the tonnage tax
[i.e. ensuring that most Greek shipping shifts to nearby Cyrpus].
– The authorities will take actions to launch the 2015 ENFIA exercise in
order to issue bills in October 2015 with the final instalment due in February 2016
[i.e. perpetuating an indefensible property tax that falls on everyone independently of their income in a country were 2 million unemployed or inactive people still own some small property. The perpetuation of ENFIA, and the glee with which the troika sees the issuance of bills in October, will most certainly turn the population against this MoU and make its implementation impossible}
– a second-phase of pension reforms
[i.e. cuts to existing pensions, as opposed to mere restrictions in early retirements]
– phasing out the preferential tax treatment of farmers in the income tax code, with rates set at 20% in the 2016 exercise and 26% in the 2017exercise
[adding to the pain of the diesel oil tax rate and creating new vistas of glory for tax evasion in Greece’s countryside]
– better target eligibility to halve heating oil subsidies expenditure in the budget
2016
[that is, let more families freeze in the coming winter]
– clarify that the VAT island discounts will be fully eliminated by end-2016 and define the transitional arrangements
[The determination with which the troika persecutes Aegean islanders, demanding that their VAT discount is removed, is impressing. Especially given that this type of discount applies fully in every remote island grouping in the European Union; e.g. the Canaries, several islands in the Baltics, etc.
– In view of any revision of the zonal property values, adjust the property tax
rates if necessary to safeguard the 2016 property tax revenues at least
2.65 billion €
[i.e. make sure that properties which lost much of their value due to the recession are still taxed as a percentage of the old, defunct value - a clear directive to pursue unfair tax policies !]
– the gradual phasing out the solidarity grant (EKAS) for all pensioners by
end-December 2019, starting with the top 20% of beneficiaries in March 2016
[This is noteworthy for its callousness. EKAS is a small contribution to pensioners on extremely low pensions, well below the poverty level. To phase EKAS out, without any serious provision for its replacement, is an attack on decency.]
Etc, etc. (la suite est pire)
