In the coming days, with the issuance of the required circulars and ministerial decisions, 4 more measures included in the law “Interventions for a state more friendly to the citizen” are being put into effect. These are, as announced by the vice president of the government, Kostis Hatzidakis, measures by which unreasonable property claims by the State are ended, transfers are facilitated when there are debts, notaries are turned into a one stop shop and the codification and posting of circulars on the websites of Public Sector services proceeds.
More specifically, as Kostis Hatzidakis stated, speaking yesterday at a conference on the topic “The Public Sector is changing-New Policies. Measurable Results”, organized by the website newmoney.gr:
- Next week, in cooperation with the Ministry of Rural Development, an interpretive circular will be issued regarding the measure that puts an end to unreasonable claims on agricultural properties by the State. These are properties for which there have been temporary concession deeds for decades through acts of government administrations, land redistributions, agricultural distributions, refugee resettlements, etc. As Kostis Hatzidakis explained, beyond urban properties (e.g. the city of Saronida or the center of Karditsa), the State was also claiming fields that farmers had been cultivating for years. “It is not possible for someone to have temporary concession deeds since the time of Venizelos and for us to remember one hundred years later that these concession deeds are not valid. At some point, a brake must also be put on excesses,” he characteristically stated.
- In the coming days, a decision by the governor of AADE will be issued for the implementation of the new provision, which provides that the seizure imposed by the Tax Administration on a property will be lifted in view of its transfer for consideration, provided that a percentage of the current outstanding debt balance, which cannot be less than 25%, is withheld from the price and paid by the notary to AADE.
“The law provides limits so that there are no excesses and at the same time citizens are facilitated, who pay part of their debt to the State. The Governor of AADE will specify the criteria of the debtor’s tax compliance and the collectability of the remaining debt on the basis of which the withholding percentage is determined,” stressed the vice president of the Government.
- By Joint Ministerial Decision, the provision of the law will be implemented, which makes notaries a one-stop service (one stop shop) in property transfers.
- Within July, a circular of the Ministry of Interior will be issued, by which instructions will be given to services to proceed with the codification of their circulars and their posting on their websites. “The law provides that from now on if circulars are not posted on the websites of the ministries they will not be valid. So that there is transparency and the citizen is truly a citizen and not a subject,” noted Kostis Hatzidakis.
Other measures have already been activated, such as the website politis.gov.gr, through which interested parties can see how their case is progressing in the Public Sector. Also the non-exercise of legal remedies by the State in judicial disputes of particular social significance, which was applied for the Tempi accident. And the possibility of replacing supporting documents with a solemn declaration.
The vice president of the government also stated that today, in a joint press conference with the Ministry of Rural Development and AADE, the progress of the payment of agricultural subsidies will be presented. “A few days ago farmers were paid for the first time without complaints. And for the first time the real producers saw more money in their accounts because we have a transparent system which is obviously also served by the mechanisms of AADE. And this is a reform moving forward,” he noted.
“The country must move forward,” Kostis Hatzidakis concluded. “And for this reason I believe that I have no right toward myself and my conscience to compromise with populist practices and with the logic of stagnation. When you go into a public position you must know that in the end neither weddings nor baptisms, nor public relations, will remain. What remains is the work.
There is no need for arrogance or indignation. What is needed is patience, seriousness, dignity, and to do that for which the prime minister has appointed you and what your conscience tells you. Citizens are not naive, in the end they understand”.