A draft bill amendment suspending a harmonization of VAT rates on various eastern Aegean islands for a year -- not indefinitely -- was unanimously ratified by Parliament deputies attending the legislative session on Wednesday afternoon.
The measure, which keeps VAT rates at previous lower levels from the rest of Greece, was tabled in order to provide some financial relief to islands plagued by Mideast refugee flows and the hosting of the refugees -- as well as thousands of Third World irregular migrants taking advantage of the Middle East conflicts to reach preferred destinations in western Europe.
The VAT suspension hike was the lesser of two measures abruptly announced by the Greek prime minister earlier in the month, with the most prominent initiative, a "holiday bonus" for pensioners, causing a temporary freeze in short-term measures agreed to by creditors on Dec. 5.
A roll-call vote generated 259 yea votes from the same number of MPs in the legislature at the time.
