PASOK-KINAL: ‘Hidden debts under the rug’ that lead to deficit widening

PASOK-Movement for Change MPs talk about “hidden debts under the rug” that lead to a widening deficit and new adventures in the country, in a question they submitted to the Minister of Finance, with the first signatory being the head of the parliamentary group Michalis Katrini.

In their question, entitled: “‘Magic picture’ the course of execution of the 2022 Budget, in the context of a sham government ‘success story II'”, which was submitted “a few days after the government’s triumphs for the exit from the enhanced supervision “, PASOK MPs ask the Minister of Finance and the government to give” concrete answers “to the following:

1st) What are the details of the expenses whose payment was delayed, who and why decided to postpone their payment, when is it foreseen that the specific expenses will be paid, as well as whether sufficient credits have been registered in Budget 2022 for their repayment. It is even emphasized that the last Enhanced Surveillance Report (May 2022) points out the budgetary risk of forfeiture of government guarantees, especially those provided during the pandemic.

2nd) What was the amount of Government Guarantees at the end of 2021, but also what is today (June 2022) the amount of total Government Guarantees?

According to the questioners, PASOK has strongly pointed out the large discrepancy between the amount of guarantees mentioned in the Introductory Report and the respective amounts of the monthly Bulletins of December 2021 and January 2022.

Specifically, they add, in the Budget Execution Bulletin the government guarantees at the end of April 2022 were 30,376 million euros, slightly different from the corresponding ones at the end of 2021, which reached 30,662 million euros. However, the guarantee table of the Execution Bulletin of the General Government (December 2021) showed that the total government guarantees at the end of 2021 were 22.9 billion euros, while the guarantee table of the Draft Budget Report (PC) 2022 “creates” a picture of total government guarantees at the end of 2021 just 8.8 billion euros, supposedly the smallest since 2006. PASOK in the text of their question.

3rd) What is the amount (stock) of unpaid guarantees forfeiture today, as well as what was the amount of new guarantees forfeiture during 2021 and the first four months of 2022?

4th) What is the current level of overdue guarantees? Are appropriations entered in Budget 2022 to repay these debts?

5th) What does it intend to do to repay the overdue liabilities to the private sector, since the beneficiaries need the amounts owed? Are there enough credits in the Budget to repay them?

6th) What does it intend to do to pay the overdue tax refunds, since the consistent taxpayer is entitled to the tax refund owed to him by the Government on time? Have sufficient appropriations been entered in Budget 2022 for their repayment?

7th) What is the current amount of overdue liabilities of the Civil Servants Welfare Fund? What is the amount of credit entered in Budget 2022 for the repayment of these debts?

8th) What is the current level of overdue tax refunds from customs? Are appropriations entered in Budget 2022 to repay these debts?

9th) What is the amount collected by the Tax Authorities from the first debtors of loans guaranteed and paid by the State during 2021 and during the first four months of 2022.

The PASOK parliamentary group still asks the Minister of Finance, what would be the fiscal result of the first four months of 2022, if these debts and the “hidden” debts had been calculated and mainly repaid.

“It is clear that the New Democracy government will not be able to hide the truth and reality for a long time to come. But most of all, everyone now realizes that the government’s financial management is suffering. The problems that the government is hiding under the rug “, soon, they will come to the surface and then the time of truth will come”, emphasize the PASOK deputies.

Source: AMPE