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Athens News Agency: News in English, 11-06-07Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Mid-Term Program to be tabled by end of weekANA-MPA/Finance minister George Papaconstantinou late Monday told an informal Cabinet meeting that the Medium-Term Program on the economy will be tabled in parliament by the end of the week, according to sources, but it will not be voted on before the upcoming EU summit due to lack of time.The same sources said that the new tax bill for 2012 will be tabled in September, providing for simplification of the tax scale, reduction of taxation rates, reduction of taxation of businesses, and reduction of VAT, although the main VAT rate will rise to 23 percent. However, the sources cited Papaconstantinou as saying that foods will not be subject to the 23 percent VAT rate.ana-mpa The sources further cited Papaconstantinou as admitting shortfalls in the implementation of the Memorandum, attributing them to the recession in the economy. He added, however, that the government will not back down on its targets. The finance minister further noted that the government intends to incorporate two of the proposals recently unveiled by main opposition New Democracy, namely those concerning 'reserve labor' and incentives for the repatriation of capital, which it intends to combine with the purchase of Greek bonds with that capital, the sources added. More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form [02] ASE opening: DeclineEquity prices were declining at the opening of trade on Tuesday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), with the basic share price index down 0.73 percent, standing at 1,315.01 points at 11:15 am, and turnover at 14.755 million euros.Individual sector indices were moving mostly downward, with the biggest gains in Technology, up 2.02 percent; and Food and Beverages, up 1.37 percent. The biggest losses were in Health, down 2.36 percent; Telecoms, down 1.89 percent and Banks, down 1.43 percent. The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was down 0.88 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index was down 0.73 percent, and the FTSE/ASE-80 small cap index was up 0.67 percent. Of the stocks traded, 23 were up, 35 were down, and 12 were unchanged. More details on the subscriber's page of ANA-MPA | Subscription request form Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |