general accounting office

The maintenance of the tax-free threshold at its current level beyond 2020 will create a fiscal hole of 466 million euros despite the abolition of the countermeasures that had been scheduled for next year, while the European Commission is accusing the government of constantly overestimating its investments without implementing them.

Having tabled a bill rescinding a legislated reduction of the tax-free threshold on personal income tax backed that was scheduled to take effect on 1 January, 2020, the government has said it plans to implement a series of counter-austerity measures that the PM had announced in the past.

In his first public statement on the government's fiscal policy after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' 8 May presentation of his stimulus package, which combines benefits and tax cuts, Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras is warning about the danger of fiscal derailment,

Greece will achieve a primary surplus of 3.5 pct of gross domestic product this year based on general government fiscal data for the first quarter of 2019, but it will be unable to exceed this target if current trends prevail over the rest of the year, Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) on Wednesday.

The concession contract extension for Athens International Airport sent the budget revenues soaring last month, as it had not been factored in for March but for last year. As a result, the budget target in the first quarter of this year was far exceeded.

State revenues posted their first increase after quite some time during the first couple of months of the year, according to the data presented by the State General Accounting Office. However, at the same time, the government continued its practice of slashing the Public Investments Program, where there was a spending shortfall of 110 million euros.

State revenues failed to make the target in the very first month of the year; whispers of revenue fatigue in the corridors of the Finance Ministry are now fully reflected in the official figures issued on Friday by the State General Accounting Office.

The official data on the execution of the 2018 budget show a higher deficit and a lower primary surplus compared to the targets the government had set.

The Greek state's debts to its suppliers keep rising, as it creates 2 euros in new debt for each euro it repays, according to data released on Wednesday by the State General Accounting Office.

The figures showed that the state paid off dues of 82.1 million euros in October, while creating 164 million euros of new debt.

The state has ceased paying off its debts to its suppliers after the country exited the bailout program in the summer. Instead of diminishing, the state's dues increased slightly in October, as the government's is obviously prioritizing the payment of social dividends and covering the ruling party's promises.