Greece: News from To Vima; DEI Privatisation; Taxation, Property Sales

From To Vima International Edition:

DEI Privatisation Clash 

"The planned privatization of Greece’s public electrical company DEI has fueled a fierce clash between the coalition government and the main opposition".

Oppressive Taxation

"The only true, real and substantial tax reform was carried out by Dimitris Koulourianos, Finance Minister in the first A. Papadreou cabinet. Mr. Koulourianos introduced the objective real estate value system and instantly put an end to the quarreling between taxpayers and tax-collectors over the true value of real estate. The Koulourianos law provided that irrespective of the price for which a plot of land is sold, the tax payable in based on the plot's objective value".

The problem was that the so-called "objective value" was much lower than the true current market value and selling price.