Greece Weighs Different Tax Plans For Thessaloniki Fair

Greece’s finance ministry is preparing several versions of its autumn economic package rather than one, uncertain how much fiscal room it will have and working with far less than in recent years.

Those measures are traditionally set out at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), where the prime minister lays out the government’s economic priorities for the year ahead. This year the planning has taken on a different character than at any point in the past six years. Rather than settle on one set of measures, officials are working through several at once, because of the number of unknowns, including how large the budget surplus will be.

The aim is to decide as late as possible, close to the end of August, once the picture is clearer on tourism, energy prices, tax revenue and Brussels’ first assessment of the 2027 budget. Unlike in previous years, this is closer to a scenario-building exercise than the design of a conventional pre-election package.