Greek small businesses look for relief following new gov’t reforms

Global Business

Greece’s parliament has passed a new set of reforms to secure another agreement with creditors in exchange for more aid.

Small businesses, already struggling after six years of recession and tax hikes, might be impacted by these new regulations.

CCTV’s Filio Kontrafouri reports from Athens.

According to one Greek study, more than 200,000 small businesses closed during the first five years of the economic crisis. Last year’s capital controls imposed on the banking system made their operation even harder.

The new Value Added Tax increase from 23 to 24 percent will be another blow, merchants said, along with the increase in social security contributions.

Small businesses are considered the backbone of the Greek economy.

About 85 percent of all Greeks working in the private sector are employed by a small business. And each time one of them closes down, it adds to the unemployment problem –in a country where one in four is without a job.

Federations and unions also sounded alarm bells long before the new measures were even voted. Within months, thousands more small businesses will be forced to shut down.

In March, the organization that represents small businesses in Greece, predicted that more than 20,000 would vanish by September, along with thousands of jobs.


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