SETE Asks PM to Not Change VAT on Tourism This Year

The president of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), Andreas Andreadis, has appealed to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to not rationalize the Value Added Tax (VAT) rates on tourism this year, but as of 2016.

The rationalization of the VAT rates has been included in the government’s negotiations with international creditors.

In a letter sent to the PM on Friday, Mr. Andreadis made it clear that the tourism industry is not opposed to the rationalization of VAT rates — under conditions — if it will help seal the deal with the country’s lenders and restore the liquidity of the Greek economy and the country’s stability.

However, SETE’s president requested for the rationalization of VAT rates on tourism to apply as of next year since over 70 percent of all holiday packages have already been sold. He said that the immediate application of new VAT rates “will bring a heavy blow to businesses, which will be forced to either absorb the additional cost or to pass on to their customers”.

Mr. Andreadis added that if an uncompetitive VAT rate is imposed on the Greek tourism product then tourists will turn to rival and neighboring countries and Greece will be deprived of necessary income, several units of the already shrunken GDP and thousands of jobs.

To read the letter SETE’s president sent the Greek PM (in Greek), press here.