Tax burden for Greeks abroad can be alleviated
KOSTAS KARAMARKOS
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| Former Foreign Minister of Greece and Athens mayor Dora Bakoyianni reading Neos Kosmos. Photo: Kostas Deves |
The Hellenic Diaspora has to obtain the right
to vote in Greece and has to be able to elect its own representatives in the
Greek Parliament according to former Foreign Minister of Greece Dora
Bakoyannis, who spoke to Neos Kosmos during her private visit in Melbourne this
week.
Bakoyannis, the daughter of former conservative
Prime Minister of Greece Konstantinos Mitsotakis, was the first female mayor of
Athens. She was also a contender for the leadership of the governing
conservative New Democracy (ND) party in November 2009. Ms Bakoyannis is
currently an MP for ND. During her visit to Melbourne she also stated her support
for the Diaspora to pay lower taxes for its assets in Greece, whilst at the
same time expressing her surprise, even though "progress has been
made" as she said, about the fact that the negotiations between Australia
and Greece for the working holiday visa have not been completed.
"As a modern European country Greece is
obliged to give the voting right to its citizens who live abroad.
The voting right should be given to the Greeks
of the Diaspora who retain the Greek citizenship, and they should also have the
right to elect their own representatives in the electorate regions where they
live", Bakoyianni said.
For the issue of taxing Greeks living abroad
she stated that: "It is not possible to avoid taxing the Greek of the
Diaspora who has economic interests in Greece. Perhaps we should examine where
and how we can alleviate the tax burden of the expatriate, in order to retain
and to strengthen his link with Greece and in order to encourage him to invest
or to establish a business in Greece"
Talking to Kostas Nikolopoulos, deputy editor
of Neos Kosmos, Ms Bakoyannis was optimistic about the future of the Greek
economy and said that recovery will come to Greece in the second half of 2014,
but this means that the average citizen will not be able to see its results
until a later time.
"The government of Antonis Samaras is the
only government that can get Greece out of the crisis and secure its
future", she said. In an interview to the Greek Program on SBS radio, Dora
Bakoyiannis said that "Greece today is an ideal place for anyone to
invest".
The prominent MP from Greece met this week in
Melbourne with Nick Kotsiras, Victoria's Minister for Multicultural Affairs and
Citizenship and Minister for Energy and Resources and discussed the current
state of Affairs in Greece, in the economic and political front.
Both Mr Kotsiras and Ms Bakoyiannis expressed
their deep concerns over the popularity of the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden
Dawn, and stressed the need for Greek Australians to promote Greece as a holiday
destination for Australians wishing to holiday in Europe.
The former Foreign Minister of Greece during
her Melbourne visit stated her admiration for the harmonic multicultural
society of Australia as well as for the achievements of the Greek community in
this country.
πηγή: neoskosmos.com
