It is astonishing that even before the council of ministers, on Wednesday, approved the six amendment bills that have been labelled, rather liberally, ‘tax reform’, President Nikos Christodoulides called on the legislature to pass them.

He said he hoped “parliament will respond immediately and that tax reform in its entirety will be implemented from January 1.” He added, rather disingenuously, that “now is the time for decisions,” and that “now is the time for parliament to vote.”

Finance Minister Makis Keravnos echoed the president when he spoke after the cabinet meeting, saying the reform package was approved by cabinet on October 29 and would be submitted to parliament. Like the president, he also applied pressure on the parties, saying: “I hope that parliament and the parties will demonstrate the same focus on this issue, so that the entire package can be moved forward, discussed and approved immediately.”

The president and the minister are treating the first major changes to the taxation system in 22 years as minor piece of legislation that the parties should approve in less than two months, presumably after a superficial examination of the amendments. It is vital for the government to secure the approval before the end of the year because otherwise the reform package would have to wait until 2027 to come into effect.

If the government was so keen for the new taxation rules to be implemented at the start of next year, why had it not submitted the amendment bills to legislature in June, so as to give time to the parties and deputies to examine the provisions properly and debate possible changes with the finance minister. The government is in effect expecting the legislature to study, debate and approve in a few weeks, tax laws that will affect every individual and business for the next 20 years.

When we consider that the House will go into recess on December 17, and in these six-and-a-half weeks will also have the state budget for 2026 to study and debate, there would be very little time left for discussion of the tax reform. And it is not as if any omission or weakness in the bills could be put right in March or May, in the middle of the tax year.

Why did the government leave the tabling of the amendment bills so late? Its assumption that the parties could be pressured into approving them in a few weeks may have been mistaken. Deputies have a responsibility to comb through the amendment proposals, seek explanations or clarifications for provisions they find unclear and debate the possible effects on the economy. They should do the job they were elected to do, always having in mind that it is voters they are accountable to and not the government.