The Troika's Proposal & Greece's Surrender

[MachineGhost]

Key points:

• VAT (sales tax): A new system to come in from July 1, with three rates, aimed at boosting annual revenue by 1% of total output (GDP)
• Most goods to be taxed at top rate of 23%, including restaurants, catering, and processed foods
• Reduced rate of 13% for basic food, electricity, hotels, and water
• Super-reduced rate of 6% for medicines, books, and theater
• End exemptions and eliminate VAT discounts for Greek islands
• Create strong disincentives to early retirement
• Move retirement age up to 67 by 2022
• End Ekas “solidarity” top-up grant that some 200,000 poorer pensioners will get and immediate Ekas cut for the wealthiest 20% of recipients, and it will be cut completely by 2020
• Pensioners’ healthcare contributions to rise to 6%, from 4%

[MachineGhost]

Here's the letter from Greece to the Troika announcing its surrender:

HELLENIC REPUBLIC
THE PRIME MINISTER

         
                                                                                                        Athens, June 30th, 2015

To the President of the European Commission 
Mr. Jean Claude Juncker

To the President of the European Central Bank 
Mr. Mario Draghi

To the Managing Director of the IMF 
Ms Christine Lagarde


    Dear Managing Director, dear Presidents,

      I am writing to inform you on the position of the Hellenic Republic towards the list of
Prior  Actions  of  the  Staff  Level  Agreement  as  published  on  the  European  Commission
website  on  June  28 th  2015.  The  Hellenic  Republic  is  prepared  to  accept  this  Staff  Level
Agreement subject to the following amendments, additions or clarifications, as part of an
extension  of  the  expiring  EFSF  program  and  the  new  ESM  Loan  Agreement  for  which  a
request was submitted today, Tuesday June 30 th    2015.  As you will note, our amendments
are concrete and they fully respect the robustness and credibility of the design of the overall
program.

1. VAT reform:
Maintain the 30% discount on islands, to be applied to the new rates. 

2. Fiscal structural measures:
Gradually increase the advance payment of individual business income tax to 100 percent
and phase out the preferential tax treatment for farmers (including the subsidies for excise
on diesel oil) by end-2017.
Reduce  the  expenditure  ceiling  for  military  spending  by  €200  million  in  2016  and  €400
million in 2017 through  a targeted set of actions, including a reduction in headcount and
procurement.

3. Pensions:
The 2010 reform will be fully implemented but the 2012 reform (sustainability factor) will be
postponed until the new legislative reform is implemented in October 2015.
EKAS will be phased-out by end-2019 but without any immediate action on the top 20% of
beneficiaries.
All nuisance charges will be phased out by end-2017, starting from October 31, 2015.

4. Labour markets:
The new framework will be legislated in autumn 2015.

5. Product markets:
Immediately  implement  specific  recommendations  from  OECD’s  toolkit  1  (tourist  rentals,
tourist  buses,  truck  licenses,  code  of  conduct  for  traditional  foodstuff  and  eurocodes  on
building materials), toolkit 2 (beverages and petroleum products), and open the restricted
professions  of  notaries,  actuaries,  and  court  bailiffs,  liberalize  the  market  for  gyms  and 
eliminate significant portion of nuisance charges.
Moreover,  in  cooperation  with  the  OECD,  implement  an  ambitious  reform  package
including: 

• Create One-Stop-Shop (OSS) services for businesses (best practice analysis, as well as
  a comprehensive roadmap already prepared and completed in cooperation with the
  OECD);
• Conduct immediately a comprehensive competition assessment on specific sectors
  characterized  by  oligopolistic  practices  (e.g.  construction,  wholesale  trade,
  agricultural  products,  media,  etc.)  and  adopting  recommendations  accordingly
  (roadmap and timelines already prepared by the OECD);
• Implement  immediately  a  comprehensive  strategy  against  corrupt  business
  practices, for example in the area of public procurement procedures (roadmap and
  timeline already prepared by the OECD).

ADMIE will be split from the PPC into a separate legal entity under state majority ownership.

Thank you in advance for your support. I look forward to hearing from you.

            Yours faithfully,

                  /s/
                  Alexis Tsipras

Cc  :  - Mr. Jeroen  Dijsselbloem,  Chairperson of the Board of Governors of ESM and
            President of the Eurogroup 

      -  Mr. Klaus P. Regling, Managing Director of the ESM

[iwealth]

Merkel really played Tsipras like a fiddle. She's refusing to talk until the vote is over. Tsipras probably never wanted to go through with the referendum to begin with. Bluff called. Now the Greek people get to experience a week of capital controls and a picture of what life will be like for a good long while if they exit the Eurozone. So they likely end up voting yes and he will feel pressure to resign his post.

Well played.

[Cortopassi]

I think you may end up saying well played, but from Tsipras' point of view.  Hard to tell who is a better game player.

I think the results of capital controls can easily continue to be portrayed as the German/ECB/IMF taskmasters fault and that a No vote still is the likely outcome.

[MachineGhost]

[align=center][/align]