Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Chouliarakis' admission, made before members of Parliament's finance and budget committee on Wednesday, that his leftist-rightist coalition government "consciously" chose to pile on tax heavy burdens on Greece's middle classes - after signing the third memorandum in August 2015 - generated a firestorm of reaction a day later.
"The tax burden is greater for honest and responsible taxpayers; the tax burden is enormous for the middle class ... and this is a conscious choice in order to support the more vulnerable social strata and households," Chouliarakis said, while criticizing the previous center-right coalition government for not doing the same thing.
His comment was pounced on by the opposition and much of the press - sans pro-government leaning media - in the aftermath.
