Thousands of enterprises forced to shut down by tax, social security hikes

19,000 enterprises have shut down in Greece since the start of the year, while the number of new ones in 2016 comes to just 16,478, according to the General Commercial Register (GEMI). This means that the year to date is showing a deficit of 2,578 enterprises. The higher taxes and the increases in the social security contributions that companies must pay for their employees don’t just push enterprises toward closure; they also constitute serious counterincentives for people to set up new ones. This goes a long way toward explaining why 2,865 fewer enterprises opened this year than during the same period in 2015, as the GEMI data show.