Debt settlement deadline expires; 10 billion euros inducted
A scheme allowing debtors to settle their arrears to the Greek state on favorable terms and in up to 120 installments expired, after a seventh extension, at midnight on Monday.
According to official figures some 10 billion euros’ worth of debts owed to tax authorities and social security funds had been slated for repayment under the scheme by Monday afternoon, while more than 600 million euros have already been paid into state coffers.
Over 660,000 taxpayers with a total of 6.4 billion euros’ worth of debt had signed up for the scheme by Monday, with Finance Ministry officials saying that they expect the amount of debts to the tax authorities under settlement to rise to around 7 billion euros from 730,000 debtors. Tax authorities have already collected 402 million euros thanks to the scheme and are expected to reach 650 million euros by the end of the year.
Moreover, at least 10 percent of a total outstanding debt of 35 billion euros to social security funds has been slated for settlement under the scheme. Specifically, more than 273,000 of 410,000 applications submitted to the scheme’s online platform by Monday afternoon had been approved for a total of 3.5 million euros. The Labor Ministry expects the total slated for settlement after Monday night’s last-minute applications to come to 4 billion euros.
