Greece could impose small levy on bank ATM withdrawals
Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has said it could impose a small levy on bank ATM withdrawals to encourage the use of credit cards, as part of a package of measures aimed at fighting tax evasion.
"There may be, for example, a small fee on ATM withdrawals. This is under discussion as an incentive to use plastic … It has not been decided yet," he said.
Varoufakis also ruled out any tax on bank deposits according to the report by Reuters.
Greece's anti-austerity government has been trying to come up with a list of economic reforms that are acceptable to both itself and its creditors since February.
The cash-strapped country desperately needs to unlock billions of euros of credit due under its €240bn (£170bn) bailout agreement, ahead of its June 5 deadline for a a €1.6bn (£1.1bn) payment to the IMF.
Earlier today official said Greece could avoid making this payment by lumping together all IMF payments due in June and paying them at the end of the month.
This would buy it more time at the negotiating table, and help avoid an immediate default on its €320bn (£227bn) debt pile with unknown consequences for the euro area.