Reuters quotes an unnamed Greek government official on Friday as claiming that the still bailout-dependent country will post a primary budget surplus for 2017 of between 3.5 and 4 percent of GDP, a figure that would far exceed the prescribed memorandum target.
The over-performance, according to the same source, comes on the heels of increased social security contributions and tax revenues.
Conversely, the opposition in Greece has vilified the leftist-rightist coalition government for agreeing to high fiscal targets with creditors, and achieving results via delayed payments of arrears to the private sector, slashed retirement payments and a "tax tsunami" enacted in 2016 that mainly targets wage-earners, pensioners and self-employed professionals. Consumers have also been swamped by a 24-percent VAT rate and higher "sin taxes".
The memorandum-mandated target for 2017 was 1.75 percent (of GDP), rising to 3.5 percent this year and in 2019.
