STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Greek lawmakers approve a new tax bill intended to raise 2.3 billion euros
- The move is likely to anger many Greeks struggling under austerity measures
- An anarchist group says it planted makeshift bombs outside the homes of journalists Friday
- It accuses the media of representing a corrupt system and supporting the elite
The new tax bill, passed
in the early hours, is needed to help the debt-stricken country meet its
commitments to international creditors, state-run ANA news agency
reported Saturday.
The legislation makes it
compulsory for all taxpayers to lodge an income tax declaration while
raising property and corporate taxes, the news agency said.
The new tax bill is one
of "fiscal necessity" and will ensure that shortfalls are met in a
socially fair way, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told lawmakers
ahead of the vote, ANA reported.
The measure, intended to
raise an extra 2.3 billion euros ($3 billion) this year, is part of a
raft of measures enabling Greece to qualify for further international
bailout funds.
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The vote by lawmakers
came a day after arsonists critical of the country's media coverage of
the crisis attacked the homes of five prominent journalists in Athens
using makeshift bombs.
An anarchist group angry
at the Greek media coverage of the country's economic crisis claimed
responsibility for the attacks in a statement posted on a leftist
website.
It was the first such coordinated action in Greece since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008.
The anarchist group,
calling itself Lovers of Lawlessness, described the media as "the
official representation" of a corrupt system and said it was time for
"fear to change camp."
The group said the five
journalists targeted were "double tongued," because they were "using a
pro-workers rhetoric, but at the same time winking mischievously at
their political bosses."
All five journalists, including two broadcast news presenters, work for mainstream media outlets.
"Only small material damage was caused by the explosions," police spokesman Christos Manouras told CNN.
Friday's predawn attacks
came after a number of recent media reports on Greece's "triangle of
power," providing detailed accounts of the strong links among the
country's financial and political elite and the media.
The Greek government has
condemned the attacks. Spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said they were "an
attempt to terrorize the media," which he described "as a vital part of
our democracy".
It is the second time
the group has targeted journalists. In July, it also claimed
responsibility for an arson attack outside a restaurant owned by a
prominent Greek journalist.
Greece's international
partners agreed on a second bailout program late last year, and gave the
government elected in June more time to meet its budget commitments.
But the austerity
measures imposed to tackle the country's debt crisis have provoked
violent protests in recent months and mass strikes by public and private
sector workers.
The Greek economy has
shrunk by about a fifth since 2008, adding more than 500,000 people to
the jobless total in a country with a population of 10 million. The
unemployment rate has more than tripled over the same period and stood
at 26% as of September.
Journalist Elinda Labropoulou reported from Athens, Amir Ahmed contributed in Atlanta and Laura Smith-Spark wrote in London.
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