Mitsotakis unveils €2.2 billion economic package at Thessaloniki International Fair

Multi-year tax relief and business incentives

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis presented a 2.2 billion euro economic support package for 2027 during his address at the Thessaloniki International Fair on Saturday. The government structured the tax and social interventions over a four-year implementation horizon extending through 2029. Under the revised tax rules, self-employed professionals will receive reductions in presumptive taxation starting in the 2026 tax year, removing surcharges tied to turnover and payroll. Presumptive criteria fall by 50% for professionals working in settlements with fewer than 2,000 residents, with the threshold set at 2,200 residents in Western Macedonia. For instance, an established catering business with five employees and a 105,000 euro annual payroll will gain 2,534 euros annually. Tax advance requirements for the self-employed will drop from 55% to 50% in tax year 2027. For corporate enterprises, advance tax payments will decline by 5% annually from 2028 until reaching 50%, down from the current 80% rate. In addition, the regional business levy terminates in tax year 2026, while in Attica the fee will decrease by 50% in 2028 before full abolition in 2029. A retail company in Thessaloniki previously paying 1,600 euros will face zero levy costs from 2027.

Support for pensioners, wages, and small businesses

The package introduces direct financial adjustments for retirees, increasing the permanent annual support payment by 100 euros to reach 400 euros net starting in November 2026. Government eligibility criteria expand to include all pensioners over the age of 65 across the country. The administration also confirmed plans to raise the national minimum wage toward 1,000 euros while reducing social security contribution rates. Small and medium-sized enterprises will receive dedicated liquidity through 1.5 billion euros transferred from the Recovery Fund to the Hellenic Development Bank. The bank will allocate 1.1 billion euros toward direct business loans and 400 million euros to underwriting credit guarantee instruments. Further components of the plan include staged reforms to property tax (ENFIA), power bill subsidies, and a new savings fund designed for children.

Political debate and opposition demands

Government representatives defended the fiscal sustainability of the announced measures across national broadcast interviews. Deputy Labour Minister Kostas Karagkounis emphasized that funding derives from economic expansion rather than additional tax levies.

The government is proceeding in a very specific way to try to find available fiscal space through growth and not through tax increases, so as to return this dividend back to society.

Opposition parties criticized the administration's platform, characterizing the announcements as political hypocrisy and image management. PASOK spokesperson Kostas Tsoukalas maintained that the fiscal framework leaves high-earning entities and financial conglomerates under-taxed while offering limited relief to ordinary citizens.

The country's problem is that the truly powerful do not pay. The funds that enjoy special tax immunity, the banks, the oligopolies, energy.

PASOK proposed introducing a permanent mechanism to tax windfall profits generated by commercial banks, energy providers, and refineries, with party leader Nikos Androulakis preparing to detail the initiative. Opposition party ELAS urged additional steps, including value-added tax reductions on basic consumer goods and the complete abolition of advance tax payments.