Greek government on Wednesday announced a series of measures aimed at reining in public spending and boost revenue.

The measures include a freeze on salaries of public sector employees earning more than 1,700 euros a month, as well as a symbolic 5-percent tax hike for Parliament MPs, judges and physicians.

Economy and Finance Minister Yiannis Papathanassiou also announced the imposition of a one-off tax levy of 1,000 euros for annual incomes above 60,000 euros and up to 80,000 euros; 2,000 euros for incomes ranging from 80,000 to 100,000 euros; 3,000 euros for incomes ranging from 100,000 to 150,000 euros and 4,000 euros for personal annual incomes exceeding 150,000 euros.

The Greek minister said the decisions were difficult, while he announced to civil servants with a monthly income of up to 1,500 euros by December 31, 2008 would be given a one-off financial bonus totaling 500 euros for the year. He added that the measures would aid the incomes of financially weaker groups of society and better allocate the burden of the ongoing international economic crisis.

Papathanassiou said both the Greek and the European economies were facing the biggest crisis since 1929 and that forecasts by international organizations were becoming more and more pessimistic.

He stressed that the government's aim was to strengthen the Greek economy, and pointing that the measures would save state coffers more than 350 million euros this year.

The Greek government also announced a series of measures for pensioners, with monthly pensions up to 800 euros given a one-off support of 500 euros, while for pensioners receiving between 800 and 1,000 euros a one-off bonus of 300 euros is given.

(Xinhua News Agency March 19, 2009)