BoG chief calls for a re-examination of tax exemptions

The governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, called on the Finance Ministry leadership on Tuesday to re-examine all tax exemptions, stressing that "the country needs revenue."

Stournaras noted that the shadow economy in Greece exceeds 40 billion euro and that existing tax exemptions need to be evaluated as to whether they concern the truly vulnerable.

He went on to recommend that the government continue to pursue a "prudent" fiscal policy so that the budget can double its primary surplus to 2% of gross domestic product in 2024. 

Saying that Greece "has come back from the brink and is now an international success story," Stournaras said that the public debt is decreasing rapidly and estimated that real wages in the country will increase this year.

He said that the revenues expected to be collected by the state from the sale of the shares held by...