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Christmas dinner to cost Greeks more due to tax hikes

Xinhua, December 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

The traditional Christmas dinner will cost Greek consumers this year at least 2.5 percent more than last year due to the latest tax hikes, according to a survey by the National Confederation of Greek Commerce (ESEE) published on Saturday.

The average household will most likely have to spend at least 150.96 euros(157.78 U.S. dollars) for the Christmas dinner of six to eight persons, up from the 147.39 euros spent in 2015, showed the survey conducted last week.

In 2014 the total price of the same dinner prepared with the same ingredients and quantities -- from the turkey and vegetables to the desserts -- stood at about 144.76 euros.

The main reason for the increasing cost, according to an e-mailed statement by ESEE's President Vassilis Korkidis, was the latest round of direct and indirect tax hikes introduced to achieve the fiscal targets of the Greek bailout program.

For instance, the standard VAT rate increased from 23 percent to 24 percent effective June 1, 2016 and as a result thousands of goods and services suffered hikes in prices. Enditem