Greek lawmakers are now set to vote on the final draft of the country's third bailout program. If the proposal doesn't clear parliament, eurozone finance ministers will likely delay implementation of the ESM program, setting up the possibility that Athens will be forced to tap the remaining funds in the EFSM for a bridge loan in order to make a €3.2 billion payment to the ECB next week.
More from Bloomberg:
Greece will be forced to accept a bridge loan if lawmakers don’t approve the country’s bailout before a meeting of euro-area finance ministers later Friday, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos says in parliament.
Euro-area finance ministers late won’t sign off on plan if it hasn’t yet been passed through Greek parliament.
As a reminder, the MOU includes around 40 new laws, including what Kathimerini describes [4] as "a barrage of new taxes." Here's a rundown:
A diesel fuel tax for farmers going from 66 euros per 1,000 liters to 200 euros/1,000 liters from October 1, 2015, and to 330 euros by October 1, 2016. Farmers’ income tax to be paid in advance will rise from 27.5 percent to 55 percent. Income tax for farmers is set to rise from 13 to 20 percent for 2016 and to 26 percent for 2017.
Freelancers will be subject to a gradual increase from 55 to 75 percent in advanced tax payments for income earned in 2015, increasing to 100 percent in 2016. The 2 percent tax break for single payments on income tax is also being abolished from January 1, 2015.
Private education, previously untaxed, will be taxed at 23 percent, including the tutoring schools (frontistiria) that most Greeks send their children to but excluding preschools. Reduced value-added tax rates for islands are to be abolished completely by the end of 2016, with enforcement staggered across three groups of islands from October 1, 2015 to January 1, 2017.
As we noted earlier [5], expect some MPs in Tsipras’ coalition government to vote against the deal (incidentally, Panagiotis Lafazanis announced the formation of a new "political movement" today), but between the PM’s call [6]for an end to Syriza infighting earlier this month and the support of opposition parties, the bailout will likely pass.
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Full bailout documents
