“At a time when you can work from anywhere in the world, why not work based in Greece?” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday, during an online discussion with Greeks working abroad, who addressed concerns and posed questions about returning to their home country.
Mr Mitsotakis discussed tax and other incentives for the reversal of the “brain drain”, including a 50-per cent reduction in income tax for the first 7 years for those Greeks returning or moving their work base to Greece. Following the coronavirus pandemic, he said the government will expend its efforts on “attracting to our homeland human capital, which we really need.”
He also noted the concerns they aired: “What Greece’s long-term prospects are, whether it has left the crisis behind, whether there is political stability, meritocracy, an effective state and an economy that can offer more job prospects than those it offers today.” Other concerns included the health services and schooling and integration for children that did not speak Greek.
The Greek premier also referred to the recently released Pissarides Report on the general outlines of changes Greece needs to implement in order to become “an extrovert, competitive economy at the cutting edge of developments, at the cutting edge of technology, at the cutting edge of climatic change,” coupled with an effective state and a unique quality of life.
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The coronavirus pandemic has provided “a great opportunity,” he said: “At a time when you can work from any place, why not work from Greece, as long as certain basic requirements are met? Quality of life considerations will play an increasingly greater role.”
Attending the meeting was the head of the premier’s Economic Office, Alex Patoulis, who spoke of his own experiences returning to Greece from abroad.