Yannis Stournaras

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.

ECB to hold Governing Council meeting in Athens

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank is meeting on Wednesday and Thursday at the Bank of Greece, for the first time since 2008.

Its president, Christine Lagarde (pictured), has had the opportunity to get a taste of Athens and the Greeks in a different climate than what prevailed during the difficult years of the debt crisis.

The uphill battle of surpluses

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras has put the bar for next year's primary budget surplus - that is, excluding debt servicing - at 2.3% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). This is the minimum he deems necessary for the debt, as a percentage of GDP, to keep falling and for the country to return for good to the path of fiscal rectitude.

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