Farmers protest against real estate tax bill outside Parliament

Thousands of farmers from all over Greece began congregating at Syntagma Square early this morning in preparation of their demonstration at noon against the government’s controversial real estate tax bill.

Buses from the port of Piraeus arrived early in the morning to drop off farmers who travelled from Crete, who set up tables to offer wine, tsikoudia and other local delicacies and snacks. The police have set up a blockade on Stadiou Street in order to intercept the farmer representatives from Peloponnesus, who are arriving in a truck transporting oranges.

The president of the federation of farmer associations in Iraklio Tzortzakis explained that the taxation of agricultural land will be a coup de grace for the agricultural sector, while the president of the Panhellenic Confederation of Agricultural Unions and Cooperatives (PASEGES) Tzannetos Karamichas claimed the tax goes against the essential values of freedom and ownership.

During the discussions in Parliament, the PASEGES representative Konstantinos Skiadas accused of government of enforcing an unfair tax which farmers are unable to pay, rather than supporting agriculture as a primary sector of production.