2025 will be a year of further reduction of social security contributions and taxes for taxpayers who are consistent, said the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis, speaking tonight at the 8th Growth Awards Competition of Eurobank and Grant Thornton.

He also stressed the need to preserve political stability in order not to let the sacrifices and efforts of workers and businesses go to waste.

"As we have managed to stabilize macroeconomic aggregates, we are making an even stronger shift from macro to micro. That is, to further increase investment, increase exports, ensure healthy competition and enhance competitiveness," the minister noted. And he presented five initiatives in this direction, which are:

1. "2025 will first and foremost be a year of further reduction of social security contributions. First of all, there will be a further increase in the number of tax cuts. It has already been voted on and implemented to reduce social security contributions by one additional point in 2025, thus reaching the average of the European Union. But 2025 will also be a year of further tax reductions for consistent taxpayers, and this is certainly of interest to business executives and employees," Hatzidakis stressed.

2. A stronger framework for small business mergers. "It is further proof that the government is seeking to encourage a new production model by adopting new ideas and solutions to this end," the minister said.

3. Further boosting investment by improving the business environment. "Local and special urban plans are now being prepared. The National Cadastre is being completed. The administration of justice is being accelerated, with successive interventions and the use of new digital tools," the minister noted. As Mr. Hatzidakis stressed, Greece is at the top of the EU in terms of investment growth over the last five years. In 2025, they will reach 17.5% of GDP, which means that the difference compared to the European average in this period is limited to about three percentage points.

4. Strengthening exports: "We will use targeted financial instruments for export-oriented enterprises, such as the program we recently announced for the "Outward Focus of SMEs". Also, under the new Roadmap for Trade Facilitation, we are proceeding with the simplification and digitization of customs procedures. While the provision of targeted tax incentives in specific sectors that are suitable for boosting exports will also be considered," Hatzidakis said. A key objective is to penetrate new markets such as India and China. He noted that exports in 2024 have more than doubled compared to pre-crisis levels, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP.

5. Increased competition across the market and in the banking sector. In this direction, non-banking institutions have recently been allowed to grant all forms of business loans. At the same time, the policy on the so-called fifth pillar of the banking system is moving forward".