Kafounis: "Tax increases do not bring more money into the budget"

President of the Athens Trade Association Stefanos Kafounis in podcast ΒΑΒΕΛ: The government’s goal of collecting taxes from the self-employed will not be met. Establishing a tax minimum will not lead to filling the budget; rather, everything will happen the other way around…

Turnover is growing, but my experience, the practice that we encounter every day, suggests that profits have decreased or disappeared,” said Stavros Kafounis, President of the Athens Commercial Association, speaking on the ΒΑΒΕΛ podcast. – We can see more money coming in, but as rents have gone up, wages have gone up – and rightfully so, because the people who work for us are our customers – energy costs have gone up. Eventually there is not enough money and we hear crying and moaning.

“We ask and ask againhe adds, on further reduction of non-wage expenses. This is called an insurance fee. Three loans have already been given. We are waiting for another unit that we are haggling over whether half will be given in 24 and half in 25. I say that this unit must be given now to cover the increase in the minimum wage. It is clear that there is no money in the center, but we need to look at the money that we give in other cases, how it is given for this measure, which will make business more competitive, and then, without needing any minister, we will reduce prices, because in order to sell, prices must be reduced. If we don’t lower our prices, we won’t sell, so we don’t want anyone pushing us in that direction.”

For Black Friday

“We have entered a period of discounts, but I must warn people, consumers, that as I follow the preparations this week, there will be very large offers, with really great interest, and I hope that sales will be correspondingly high. They will give us are needed. This is the turnover that the market needs. I do not undertake to give a figure, because it depends on the industry. Electronics are in the lead. Clothing, shoes – to a lesser extent. But this period for many enterprises from “black friday” before the holidays accounts for up to 50% of annual turnover, so we understand that these are businesses that rely on this period.”

About taxation of self-employed
“In the end, the government’s forecasts for these 600-800 million will not be confirmed, because, on the one hand, not all enterprises have them, as they imagine. On the other hand, every time we try to apply a horizontal measure. As a result, the system balances out, some businesses are closing because they are not really making a profit and are currently only existing to see if there will be work in the future. Some other businesses may make changes to their accounting and move from sole proprietorship to company form , and some others will try to adjust to reality, so we won’t see 800 million or 600 million. I’m afraid that we’ll be negatively surprised and end up with just an unfair discussion about tax avoidance while I’m saying this and saying it again because I really want to see the positive side. In an economy where everything is so good, in the private economy, in which we have all come to the conclusion that ultimately it is she who delivers, it is she who pulls the main burden of replenishing the country’s budget“.

“The trading industry, even if it wants, will not be able to evade taxes. Because we are talking about an industry to which large companies supply goods. Already with an invoice. It has electronic tracking systems in ΑΑΔΕ. From 01/01 it will have completely myDATA has been implemented, cash registers have been linked. So I really don’t understand how we put an industry like trade, discussing the general problem of tax evasion. We are going to institutionally ask for an exception for retail trade. I understand the complexity of this measure, but if you look globally, then measures that pack professionals will always displease me. The state must do its job. There are no auditors, but they can use other evidence to find out who is evading taxes, and in any case, in my deep conviction, for In the fight against tax evasion, it is necessary to incentivize those who deal with the alleged evader. I mean the incentives that the consumer should have in any transaction with a company, with a professional, with a contractor, real incentives that will allow him to deduct what he receives from his income and ultimately avoid tax. I wonder why we don’t do this. I think it will have an immediate multiplier effect on the economy, and I think it is a measure that will take us completely out of this debate, the tax avoidance debate, in which I was a son and an old man.”

Working with the new mayor and city problems
“We are talking about the orderliness of the city, because it improves the operation of the shopping center in which we participate. Athens is a large shopping center. Obviously, everything you said is true, and these are issues that are also resolved without costs “Where the buses will park, we have 3 or 4 points that we have discussed and are discussing with the mayors. We must decide on their implementation in order to end this. Whether we want pedestrian streets or not, I answer, this is all decided by a big city, the capital, where there are so many interesting things. Of course, we should have pedestrian streets.”

“The next mayor (Mr. Haris Doukas), who has already come and met with us, poses very simple issues that we face every day that he must solve, and not only that, besides cleanliness, trees, everything, what we are talking about, there is a very big security issue that I raised with him when he arrived and the mayor plays a very big strong role in this. We need to strengthen the coordination center in which the Athens Merchants Association is involved, which is only sharing its experience, but it is the focal point between the police, the municipal police and the traffic police. To know where the problems are and how we can intervene. I think safety is the number one issue, ultimately, for everyone who walks around the city. I I dream of a city with zero crime. I even set this goal at a meeting we had in the association, because in the end everyone comes to the Athens Chamber of Commerce, and I’m glad that they listen to us. We must be doing something Right. So, when we had a meeting with the chief of police, with the municipal police and with everyone who was in the association, I said that first we need to set a goal – an area with zero crime, and then I set such a goal for Monastiraki Square. I said: guys, let’s sit on Monastiraki Square, see what needs to be done there and say that this square will become the first place with zero crime. We did start, but you know, everyday life eventually wears out the effort that we put in there to ring the bell and keep waking them up to do it. This is the first thing we must do on 01/01, and the main thing is that it does not require costs. So if it’s free, let’s do it.”

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