Mitsotakis’ 2026 Thessaloniki package: Who benefits and when payments will be made

Kyriakos Mitsotakis presented a broad package of measures at the Velidis Conference Center, promising support for employees, pensioners, businesses and families through 2029. The measures are due to begin immediately and continue through the end of 2027, with some tax changes extending into 2028 and 2029.

The minimum wage is set to rise gradually to €1,000, or €1,300 for workers with seniority increments, by January 2028. The first major increase will take effect on April 1, 2027, also affecting seniority increments and benefits. Private-sector employees will see their insurance contributions fall by half a percentage point on the same date.

Public-sector workers will receive permanent horizontal increases of up to €80 per month from next April. A permanent Christmas bonus of €500 gross will be introduced, with the first payment scheduled for December 2027. Pensioners will receive an increased annual payment of €400 net. The first payment is set for November 30, 2026, for all pensioners over 65, uninsured elderly people and people with disabilities. A second payment will follow on November 30, 2027.

The package also cuts living-expense tax presumptions by 50% in settlements with fewer than 2,000 residents. In Western Macedonia, the threshold rises to 2,200 residents. The change will appear in tax returns filed between March and July 2027, at a cost of €170 million. The business tax advance will fall to 50% from 55% for the 2027 tax year, while companies will receive annual five-percentage-point reductions from 2028, with the longer-term goal of lowering the advance to 50% from its current 80%. The business levy will end in the regions and Thessaloniki from the 2026 tax year, fall by half in Attica in 2028 and be abolished there in 2029. Small and medium-sized businesses will receive €1.5 billion transferred from the Recovery Fund to the Development Bank, including €1.1 billion in loans and €400 million in guarantees.