San Stefanos Online ~ North West Corfu
Welcome to San Stefanos (NW Corfu) => San Stefanos news and views => Topic started by: Jimbo on May 14, 2015, 03:36:43 PM
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Greece's future in the Eurozone is still uncertain.
Many people here and on Facebook have expressed fears about VAT changes and how it might cause them to eat less and lose a bit of weight.
However, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has just released a statement saying that there will be NO VAT changes until the end of the summer.
So, with that fear out of the way, we can all help the local economy by going on lots of trips and over-indulging in food and drink. Yammas.
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Phew!!! Now Tony Cox can have his usual lb of chips with every meal
#notaxonchips
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I thought Greek VAT and other taxes were paid by customers but not passed on to the government , ( Mostly )
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Latest VAT proposal rumours are of two rates: 18 and 10.5%
Also - the 18% would drop to 15% is paying with credit or debit cards to avoid cheating. If so, that would mean a potential drop in prices next year. Current main rate is 23%
There's still no agreement between Greece and EU/ECB/IMF, although the noises are slightly more encouraging. June 5th is the next key date. If they can't agree by then and unlock more money, Greece have to default on its payment.
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Was in San Steph last week and with the exchange rate it is now very cheap, 3 course special at Little Prince works out at £6.65 and £3 for a half litre of wine!
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This morning's TravelFX rate is 1.375 !!!! Even cheaper, then...
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Just purchased a few from Travelfx at 1.3815
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Excellent! The Euro is sinking at the moment.
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Your right threre Jimbo.was over in the Uk last week for a day .dont get much for a euro..
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It's bad news for UK exports to the Eurozone, that's for sure!
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Hello all you money experts, in view of the news today that Greece may default on its £1.1 billion bill to the International Monetary Fund next month, would it be wise to buy Euros now?The rate today with AceFX is 1.387.
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It's not new news - it's just that Yanis Varoufakis was on the Andrew Marr show on Sunday. Greece never could pay this amount in June without a release of bailout money.
Anybody's guess is as good as any other. One financial expert on BBC Radio 5's financial programme at 5:15 this morning said he thought the pound/Euro could go as high as 1.5.
It's always a gamble. But the current rate is as high as we've seen for a long time, and I've bought plenty for this year.
A default on payment to the IMF does not mean Greece leaves the Euro. What is just as important is whether the European Central Bank will provide liquidity for Greek Banks.
After four months of negotiations nothing has been agreed. Quote by Reuters on Kathimerini, Interior Minister Gabriel Sakellaridis:
"Still, he acknowledged that agreement on value-added tax hikes, pension and labour reform as well as lower primary surplus targets had yet to be found in negotiations with EU and IMF lenders."
You know that heavy mist than sometimes engulfs San Stef in the morning? That's where we are now. In two weeks' time we will know more.
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We're supposed to be flying the 29th June with the latest date given to the Greek government being the 30th !! Don't know what to expect 😳 X
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Anything can happen in the next three weeks. There will be more endless talks, different stories from each side, and so on.
My advice remains to take plenty of cash (including sterling). If there is a default, the situation of the banks becomes "interesting."
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I think Grexit is now odds on. For all its structural nonsense (retirement age 57) Greece has been hung out to dry by its European partners with the fiscal requirements for bail out being unachieveable.
Every distressed debtor needs a carrot and where this is none the towel must be thrown in. Germany and co were happy enough to become partners with these second tier economies and should have contracted suitable fiscal targets at the outset to reduce the impact of continual budget deficits.
How will it affect our beloved Corfu - in the final analysis not much .....those white plastic tables at Little Prince will still be alight for years to come......
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Kernowfox - I agree with a lot of that. It's up to the Greek people to decide what they will or will not do. It's hard to see it as all the fault of the IMF/ECB/EU, much as I would like to.
There will probably (I think) be an interim deal in the next few days. Not the total deal.
German bookings appear to be down 10% whereas UK is about 2%.
For tourists, all we can do is eat, drink and make it a great place to go to. Which it is.
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You could well be right Jimbo. Interim deals ad infinitum may suit all parties.....
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It's vital for the tourist industry for the uncertainty to end as soon as possible. The last four months have seen little progress. Tsipras and Varoufakis have openly insulted just about everybody, and Junker has, allegedly, now stopped taking any phone calls from Tsipras. Neither side appears to have made any significant concessions at all. The EU etc haven't faced up to the extreme damage austerity has caused to the Greek economy; the Greek government hasn't taken seriously the need for structural change. What we see is a collection of billy-goats bashing their heads together. But ultimately, unless a deal is reached, it will be the Greek billy-goat that will go on the barbecue.
Those of us (75%) who go regularly to Agios Stefanos will see it in personal terms: the friends we have made in the village, and our desire to see them prosper. We will return. But for those merely thinking of where to book a holiday somewhere, anywhere, it would be entirely sensible, unfortunately, to chose Turkey or Spain. It's very important this year that we vote with our feet and help the local economy.
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eKathimerini has the VAT rates in the "agreement"
http://www.ekathimerini.com/199529/article/ekathimerini/business/four-tier-vat-status-for-islands (http://www.ekathimerini.com/199529/article/ekathimerini/business/four-tier-vat-status-for-islands)
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Thanks for the article Jimbo. Will add some more euros to my budget to account for any possible increases. :)
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Has anyone still in the resort noticed any price rises, I see that some trips have risen in price.
Beer and meals ? 13% to 23% equates to 9% rise, surely it will rise to nearest 50cents - rounded up obviously.
So 9€ set meal becomes €10, and a 3€ Mythos becomes 3.5€ ?
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The increased Euro exchange rate will dampen the effect of the increased VAT rate , The pain will be noticed if or when the Euro rate returns to previous ( Lower) levels. I'm sure there is a lot more pain to come , borrowing money to pay off debts is never going to work.
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It's 10%, actually.
Most tavernas will probably swallow the increase.
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100€ at 13% vat = 113€
100€ at 23% vat = 123€
An effected rise of 8.85%
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That's the overall price, yes - but the VAT increase is still 10%!
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You could get a job in the greek finance ministry - maths like yours - that's why they're in this mess Jim ;D
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Thanks, Benson! Maybe I should stop running a computer company!
Because VAT is proportional, the effective increase of a rate change from 13% to 23% is same as multiplying the base charge by 23 divide 13. This is an increase, as you rightly said, of 8.84955 % approximately.
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I wonder how much of these Vat increases are going to reach the government coffers in a country where tax evasion is rampant. How do they collect taxes from the restaurants and tavernas? How much money is actually declared and how much is not? When we were there in June we were told that restaurants were taxed on how many tables they had but that this did not apply to older establishments.
The police were going round checking that employees were EU nationals and that they had identity cards and that employers were paying their National insurance.
If Hotels are going to pay an increase in Vat after October will the holiday companies up their prices for next year even for the people who have already booked . I expect Apartment owners will also have to pay more so all of us who go independently won't escape.
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Safe to say Mythos will remain unchanged , along with ouzo , metaxa and all cocktails. Alcohol has been 23% VAT since before the "crisis" . Phew !!!!!!
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San Stefano Travel as a travel agency will honour the prices for all our accomadation bookings for the duration of 2015. No increases will be implemented. However, there could be slight changes for 2016 but this situation will be reviewed at the end of the season.
As always, the sun continues to shine here. Our advise to friends and customers is to just carry on enjoying your holidays and leave these small worries to us the locals ;)
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Of course we will keep on enjoying our holidays in Corfu but we can also share your worries,some of them not so small, when you consider the high unemployment,cuts in social care and pensions etc. We have become close to our friends in Agios Stefanos, some are like our extended family we have known them for so long. So please,Hilary,don't think we just come for the sun and sea, we care about the people and we hope that things will improve for the whole of Greece in the near future.
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Well said!
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This will not stop us coming, as it is only a small change anyhow, and have become used to Thomson price hikes(!!). Far too much hysteria whipped up by TV and media frightening people into not going.
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Bookings to Greece have gone up 40% recently, apparently. That's good news.
Apple has enough cash to cover two thirds of the Greek debt. That's insane!
The EU et al have now forced Greece to raise VAT on hotels and restaurants to about 11% more than most other countries. That's anti-competitive.
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We shall also continue our holidays in San Stef. We get so much enjoyment and love seeing all our friends, who make us feel so welcome, prices may well rise, but it won't stop us going. As mentioned in a previous post, we tried to book our usual apartment when we got home recently and it was fully booked that week, so we have managed to book 1st July, so obviously people are still booking up. The price was about the same as this year.
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Bookings to Greece have gone up 40% recently, apparently. That's good news.
Apple has enough cash to cover two thirds of the Greek debt. That's insane!
The EU et al have now forced Greece to raise VAT on hotels and restaurants to about 11% more than most other countries. That's anti-competitive.
Never mind Apple,if all the Greek billionaire shipping magnates pulled together and paid the tax they have been exempt from paying since 1967 they could pay most of the national debt.