Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-12-28

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Government raises assessed property rates by around 30 pct

[02] PASOK says '2005 was a bad year for the country'

[01] Government raises assessed property rates by around 30 pct

A finance ministry�s announcement said new assessed property rates increase was in accordance with the government�s policy for a mild adjustment of property rates in order to avoid imposing any new burdens on the real estate market.

Assessed property rates were raised five years ago, in March 2001, creating a huge gap between real and assessed prices during this period.

The ministry stressed, however, that assessed property rates significantly lagged behind current market prices despite the increase.

Average prices in the regions of Attica will rise by 27.67 pct, in Thessaloniki by 31.27 pct, in Larissa by 26.30 pct, in Magnesia by 27.67 pct, in Corfu by 34.36 pct, in Cyclades by 30.16 pct, in Dodecanese islands by 24.23 pct, in Heraclion Crete by 14.56 pct and in Achaia by 28.24 pct.

The main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement on Wednesday sharply criticised the government over new assessed property tax rates announced earlier and the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) on new buildings.

"The imposition of VAT on new buildings from January 1, 2006 and deliberate leaks about the increase in assessed property rates several months ago both led to an artificial rise in prices and a major rise in buying and selling," the party's economics spokeswoman, Vasso Papandreou, said in a statement.

The Communist Party of Greece said the government measures again were aimed at revenue collection, sacrificing coverage for workers' mortgages to big capital.

According to the Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology, the government was guilty of fuelling profiteers in the real estate market, leading to a major rise in property prices.

[02] PASOK says '2005 was a bad year for the country'

According to Athanassakis, "unfortunately, whatever the ministers of the New Democracy government say outside the Maximos Mansion, the year that is coming to a close was not a good year for our country." The PASOK spokesman added:"It was not a good year for our country's position and prestige in the world. It was not a good year for our economy. It was not a good year for the working people, for the salary earners, for the farmers, for the small and medium-size businesses. It was not a good year for social policy, solidarity, for social cohesion."

Concluding, Athanassakis said that "the policies of the ND government, of the Karamanlis government, and in 2005 like in 2004, harmed the majority and benefitted the few."

Responding to Athanassakis, Government Spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said: "We hope the New Year will bring PASOK less pettiness, more responsibility and a greater desire for self-criticism regarding their term in office and their works for which Greek citizens are still paying the price."

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