PPC tax imposed on Ilia fire victims!

They may be earthquake victims living in containers, they may be fire-stricken and their homes reduced to ashes. Fate might have struck them hard but they will still have to pay the real estate fee passed in Parliament in the next few days, through the PPC bills!

Thanasis Alexandropoulos from Valmi, Ilia, witnessed the collapse of his house during the deadly 2008 earthquake, and from then on he and his family of five have been living in a 25-square-meter container.

The house he resided in before the earthquake struck has not yet been rebuilt since the state only provided him with 9.500 euros but a few days ago, the first of many installments approved three whole years ago.

“I went to the IRS and asked if I will get the extra fee through the PPC and they told me that I will be normally taxed”, he stated to protothema.gr, dreading the idea of paying a tax for the container, as well as the uninhabitable house.

IRS officers stated that “they have no information about the exclusion of earthquake victims” in answer to his question. That question is asked by hundreds of Illia families whose houses have been characterized as uninhabitable; houses that they cannot get a license to demolish since they cannot afford it. They cannot afford it since the state has not paid them the money they had promised, and thus the vicious circle continues.

A similar cry of anguish is coming from fire victims, who saw their houses burned in the summer of 2007 and will now be called upon to pay the tax for unusable houses! This comes at a time when the state cannot pay them the money they are owed, yet the government is asking for extra fees and levies.

One such case is that of Pantazis Pantazopoulos from Zaharo, Ilia, to whom the state has not yet paid the compensation of 31.500 euros. This compensation has been approved since February, in order for Mr. Pantazopoulos to rebuild his house.

“They will ask me to pay another 520 euros through the PPC” states the fire-stricken citizen to protothema.gr, who has been living without a house and whose wife is still comatose in hospital, after the life-threatening burns she received during the fires.

“I asked the tax office and they told me that there is only one memo, for the owners of old listed buildings”, states Mr. Pantazopoulos, who is requesting the immediate intervention of the Prime Minister about the great injustice being done against social groups that should be receiving compensation, but instead are called upon to pay an extra tax. They do not deserve this!