Mitsotakis at Thessaloniki trade fair: Minimum wage to reach €1,000 in 2028

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis used the opening speech at Greece’s 90th Thessaloniki International Fair to present a four-year package aimed at raising incomes, cutting taxes and supporting households.

He said the government’s policy was intended to benefit the many and promised that the gains from fiscal policy would “return to citizens’ pockets.” The measures include a gradual increase in the minimum wage to €1,000 over 15 months, with the headline describing the target as part of the government’s 2028 plan.

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We serve a policy for the many.

The package includes abolishing the business tax in the regions in 2027 and in Attica in 2029. It also changes tax presumptions for consistent self-employed workers, reduces the advance tax payment for legal entities by 5% each year until it reaches 50% from the 2028 tax year, and raises annual support for all pensioners over 65 to €400.

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The benefits of fiscal policy should return to citizens’ pockets.

Other measures include zero income tax up to €20,000 for full-time farmers and families with three children, a €500 Christmas allowance for public employees from December 2027, and the €2 billion “My Home 3” housing program. The government also plans a savings account for newborns, with the state matching parents’ annual deposits, a gradual 30% reduction in wholesale electricity prices by 2029, and inflation-linked disability benefits.

Mitsotakis said tax presumptions for compliant professionals would fall by half, benefiting more than 155,000 business owners. He said the higher tax-free threshold for farmers would affect 50,000 producers. He began the speech by expressing grief over the deaths of two air force pilots in Tanagra and said the state, in coordination with Parliament Speaker Nikitas Kaklamanis, would stand beside their families. A minute of silence preceded the speeches.

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Our thoughts are with the families of the two pilots.