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A wave of discontent started among the public as a result of great increase of the road tax in Greece, as reported by GRreporter yesterday. Opposition and members of the leading party accused the Minister of environment physical planning and public works Tina Birbily who initiated the changes. After introducing the new increase over 150 thousand owners are forced to stop their cars as they cannot afford to pay the high tax and after the yesterday announcement of extension of the term for paying the tax until January 15 their number is expected to exceed 200 thousands throughout Greece. Affected by the changes are mostly the weaker parts of society who suffer most from all the increases until now.

Prime minister George Papandreou explained for journalists that the government was forced by the lack of time for conducting effective public debate on the matters of “green” reforms, part of which are the new values of the road tax punishing the owners of old cars. Among the Greek media there is a talk that it seems the first crisis of PASOK government will start from the ministry of Birbily. To calm down the public, Prime minister stated: “We are a government who listens to the voice of the people and if needed we are ready to correct our mistakes. We see that new changes are unfair for the weaker people of our society an that is why in the program of the economic council of the government we will make the necessary changes.” Ministry of finance stated that changes in the law concerning road tax there will be amendments initiated in 2011 as the process in 2010 is already in action.

Meanwhile the Main federation of consumer protection announced that increased road tax is illegal and they violate constitutional principle of equality. Chairman of the federation Georgeos Ledjuritis stated for journalists: “With the beginning of the new year we start a shared fight. We have support of hundreds of citizens and consumers in order to take all possible legal actions and change the present way of calculating and collecting road tax.”

From the press center of the Ministry of environment physical planning and public works it was announced that for the new calculated value of the road tax in 2010 is responsible the Ministry of finance by saying: “It was not us (Ministry of environment) the ones who calculated the value of the tax”.