Greeks Sink Deeper Into Debt

It may come as no surprise that the banking sector is announcing another year of record profits. Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank are both in pinker numbers in 2004 than 2003, and even state behemoth National Bank has managed to improve its performance. Alpha and Piraeus attribute their rise mostly to consumer and housing loans to individuals, and to a much lessor extent to loans to business.

That mirrors a trend in taxation, which is being lowered this year for businesses but not for individual incomes. It also sends a worrying signal to the government about the strength of entrepreneurship and foreign investment in the economy.

Partly due to taxes and loans, but also due to inflation, the outlook for individual income earners in 2005 is not rosy. Consumers are already borrowing more than they were last year through high-interest loans and credit cards (30 percent of GDP, up from 27.5 percent) and the trend shows no sign of abating. That, in turn, helps to fuel a spiraling inflation, which causes further borrowing.

While the Government may be on the right track trying to beef up Greece as a more competitive place to do business, it may suffer from the repercussions of more of the tax burden falling onto the shoulders of individuals.

Athens News

Editorial
By John Psaropoulos

The Insidious trio of inflation, taxes and borrowing is ensuring that life in 2005 will become steadily more expensive for the average Greek household. The pinch on the Greek taxpayer and consumer may also have political effects by year’s end.