The Greek government on Thursday announced, after the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, a permanent decision to retain a lower VAT rate for five eastern Aegean islands plagued by the refugee/migrant crisis, namely, Chios, Lesvos, Kos, Leros and Samos.
The lower rate will apply for as long as temporary shelters for asylum seekers and would-be refugees are hosted on the islands. The latter hail from numerous countries extending from sub-Sahara Africa to South Asia, but mostly from the Middle East, and landed on the islands after disembarking from the opposite Turkish coast, often aided by migrant-smuggling rings operating in the latter country.
