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New Democracy leader promises tax cuts, and curbing tax evasion

ND President Kyriakos Mitsotakis in an interview with Bloomberg levelled a virulent attack on the government, which he accuses of relations with oligarchs, in the aftermath of the controversy over Ivan Savvidis .

"The government is building a new generation of oligarchs that is worse than the previous one and encourages them to buy media and exchangeq favors just to stay in power. This is unacceptable," the ND president said.

Mr. Mitsotakis expressed the opinion that the elections can be held at any moment, stressing that he is sure of the victory of New Demoracy. "I expect elections at any moment. We will win whenever they happen. What I am concerned with is to present a clear and serious plan for the country. With the end of the program we have to exit to markets and we should be able to present a convincing story. We can do it, Mr. Tsipras can not. There is a possibility that elections will be held in the second half of 2018, the reason is that Mr Tsipras will not want to accept the political cost of reducing pensions," he said.

He announced the reduction in tax when New Democracy takes over the country's government while stressing that the time has come to alleviate Greek debt.

"I think the time has come," he said, adding that this is a shared commitment, but at the same time it is a commitment to lenders since 2012. "It is time for Greece to return to the discussion table. Greece may become a positive surprise in the Eurozone," he noted.

As for the 3.5% surplus target, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that the target is too high and that he will renegotiate it with lenders so that it will be lowered slightly "only if the country regains its credibility."

In addition, he stressed that his government would be relentless with strategic bad-payers, whether they are paying taxes or repaying loans.

"We have the know-how and technology to chase those who do not pay their taxes and their loans," he said, pointing out that he wanted to offer a "fair deal" to the business community, as he argued, "I will create more favorable conditions for companies but you have to pay your taxes. We need a convincing growth model, with tax cuts," he said.

It should be noted that a little earlier in the interview he had announced a reduction in corporate tax from today's 29% to 20%, in order to boost growth.

"If we lower taxes, we will improve compliance," he said, emphasizing that tax evasion is currently very high.

Finally, Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed the opinion that the second half of 2018 is likely to hold elections.

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