Authorities probing takings from abroad
Tax authorities to examine possible undeclared salaries and pensions from other countries
The tax authorities will seek out any undeclared incomes from salaries and pensions which come from abroad, after the end of the process of tax declaration submission this summer. In the near future, the tax administration will receive the information from the corresponding tax authorities of European and third countries.
In the event that it is found that some taxpayers have forgotten to declare such revenues, they will be asked to submit amended declarations by paying the corresponding taxes and fines.
Last year cross-checks of foreign salaries and pensions uncovered millions in undeclared income. Specifically, out of 131,828 active tax registration numbers with foreign incomes, 117,092 were cross-referenced – i.e. the identification rate reached 89%.
After the cross-checks were completed emails were sent to submit the additional incomes identified. In the end, 4,109 tax returns were submitted, with the assessed tax amounts amounting to 7.1 million euros.
It is noted that in cases where undeclared incomes and earnings from previous years are discovered, taxpayers can declare them through amendment declarations for the relevant year and get taxed at the rates that were in force at that time.
It is clarified that the five-year statute of limitations does not apply to undeclared income from abroad; on the contrary, the scope of the tax administration to conduct an audit and assess the taxes is extended to 10 years. In fact, in the event that a tax declaration has not been submitted, the period is extended to 15 years.
In the meantime, more than 110,000 statements have been submitted in the first 10 days of operation of the Taxisnet electronic system, with the total amount of tax that has been ascertained exceeding €20 million. The rate of submission of declarations is moving at the same pace as last year and, as appears likely, in the coming days it will slow down due to the Easter holidays.
From the 110,267 statements that have been filed, only one in four (27,566) led to tax due.
