ATHENS: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday announced a swathe of tax cuts and a reduction of IMF debt as he battles to boost his ratings ahead of a triple electoral challenge starting this month.
"What we are doing today is an example for Europe... less austerity and more growth without violating our (creditor) agreements," he told a hastily-called media conference.
"The time has come for the sacrifices of the Greek people to be rewarded... the money is on the table."
Speaking ahead of European and local elections on May 26, and national elections in October, Tsipras said the tax cuts were made possible through "the economic recovery".
Government savings and a better-than-expected economic performance also meant Greece would be able to pay off 3.6 billion euros ($4.03 billion) in "costly" loans from the International Monetary Fund, he said.
Another 1.14 billion euros from a better-than-expected fiscal performance this year will permit a food and dining tax to be cut to 13 percent from 24 percent currently, and the main energy tax to be halved from 13 percent to six percent, the prime minister said.
A hotel accommodation tax will be reduced from 13 percent to 11 percent. And there will be an extra monthly stipend for the country's poorest pensioners.
Tsipras's government had hiked the food tax in 2015 and 2016 as it struggled to meet creditor conditions for Greece's final bailout.
Tsipras is now battling to catch up with the main opposition New Democracy conservative party which holds a steady lead in opinion polls ahead of the elections.
He said he expected the tax cuts and easing of the purse strings would be met with a "confidence vote" in the European and local elections.
Tsipras faces an actual confidence vote in parliament on Friday which his party is expected to narrowly win.
Greece exited its third bailout in August while still owing billions to the European Stability Mechanism and the IMF. It has committed to maintaining a primary surplus of 3.5 percent of output until 2022.
Athens has consistently posted larger-than-expected primary budget surpluses under Tsipras, but those calculations exclude the cost of servicing debt.
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