Greek prime minister unveils broad tax-cuts package in keynote policy speech

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis unveiled a 1.6 billion-euro ($1.87 billion) tax cuts package Saturday that includes a number of reductions affecting some 4 million citizens. He announced the package in a keynote speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair.

The head of Greece's government traditionally outlines the following year’s economic policies at the fair every September, while touting their achievements.

At last year’s speech, Mitsotakis had declared “I have not come with a bag full of gifts.”

This year’s speech was mostly about gifts designed to boost as many incomes as possible. Mitsotakis himself put the beneficiaries — the middle class, the young, large families, pensioners and others — at around 4 million.

This was not a pork barrel fest, yet it was clear that Mitsotakis was speaking with the next national election in mind. The election must take place by July 2027.

The tax-cut package was limited by spending constraints imposed by the EU, but financed by better-than-expected tax revenue and a primary budget surplus, which excludes debt servicing.

The tax cuts will be incorporated in the 2026 national budget, which will be voted on by Parliament in December.

Other than the lowest tax bracket, 9%, and the top rate of 44%, all other tax rates will be cut by 2 percentage points — more for families, especially those with three or more children. A new 39% rate will be imposed on incomes from 40-60,000 euros ($46,800 - $70,200) that now pay the top rate.

Young people under 25 making under 20,000 euros ($23,400) per year will pay no tax and those between 25 and 30 will pay a much reduced tax. Income earners from rents will also pay significantly less, although Mitsotakis noted the incomes they declare from that source are almost absurdly low. Residents of small islands — under 20,000 population — will pay 30% less in value added tax, while village residents will see property taxes much reduced over the next two years.

Steps also will be taken to reduce housing shortages, partly by building apartments on former army bases.

Wage earners and pensioners should see these changes reflected in their January 2026 pay slips.

The aim of the tax cuts is twofold: raise disposable incomes amid persistent inflation, especially in foodstuffs, and by favoring families, deal with the country’s severe demographic problem. At 1.4 children per woman, the birthrate is well below the replacement level of 2.1. At this rate, the population will drop from a current 10.2 million to well under 8 million by 2050. In 2021, the median age of 44.7 was the seventh highest globally.

Mitsotakis noted that Greece remains committed to fiscal stability at a time of global turbulence where “tariff wars shake whole economies.”

As happens every year, there were three separate protests, one by unions, one by a pro-Communist union and one by the extreme left. They were almost entirely peaceful, although participants rose from a low of under 7,500 in 2024 to over 16,000, according to police. Besides anti-government slogans, there were also many in support of the Palestinians.

Associated Press writer Costas Kantouris contributed to this report from Thessaloniki.

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivers a speech during Thessaloniki's international trade fair, at the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivers a speech during Thessaloniki's international trade fair, at the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivers a speech during Thessaloniki's international trade fair, at the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Protesters gather during a rally outside Thessaloniki's international trade fair where Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivered a keynote speech, at the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Protesters take part in a rally outside Thessaloniki's international trade fair where Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivered a keynote speech, at the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.

Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for being associated with a Russian company moving cargoes of illicit oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.

“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.

But other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)