HERE COME THE TAXES Greece scraps lower sales tax bracket for tourist islands

Posted on 09/29/2015 | About Greece

The sales tax on goods and services at six major Greek Aegean Sea tourist destinations will rise 30 percent this week as a new batch of creditor-demanded reforms kicks in.  
Tourism-reliant Greece's finance ministry says the increases will affect the islands of Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Naxos, Paros and Skiathos, with the top bracket rising from 16 to 23 percent Thursday. The same will eventually apply to all Greek islands, which till now enjoyed a lower sales tax bracket than the mainland. That is being abolished under new economic reforms and public revenue-boosting measures agreed in July. In exchange, international bailout creditors granted financially-struggling Greece a new rescue loan program worth €86 billion ($129.6 billion). The finance ministry said Monday it hopes to talk creditors into revoking the increase next year.