Greek deputy finance minister, Nadia Valavani, said on 18 February a new tax scheme will relieve the public suffering from an austerity programme that plunged millions of Greeks into poverty.

The new tax scheme will make the number of required tax payments more flexible as well as decrease the minimal monthly payments. There will also be tax exemptions for low income earners.

"Helping people that can only pay even just €20 a month will have a positive fiscal result so I cannot see why anyone would object to this," said Valavani, adding, "The people in the lower economic scale who truly cannot afford it will be exempt, those belonging in the higher scale will not be exempt."

Valavanis said homeowners will be protected from foreclosures, as many had difficulty paying housing loans and taxes during the crisis.

Increased taxes during Greece's four year debt crisis took a toll on the public's living standards, businesses and wallets. The latest tax implemented by the previous government in 2014, a wide reaching property tax, caused widespread anger and dented the government's popularity.

"We saw our wages shrink by 30 to 40 percent, so reducing wages and increasing taxes has put us back. So I think this move is in the right direction," said Manos, an accountant.

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