One in 10 covers 65% of taxes
The spreading of the taxation burden is particularly disproportionate in the Greek economy
Why do most tax revenues in Greece come from indirect taxes? Because the state collects more tax from a 150-euro supermarket receipt than it does annually from 3.2 million households.
Out of a total of 9 million taxpayers, 800,000 pay two thirds of the taxes. Salary workers and pensioners declare 72% of total income and pay 65% of taxes.
Those 9 million taxpayers fill out 6.5 million declarations every year and share incomes of around €85 billion euros, bearing a tax burden of around €8.2 billion.
Nevertheless that burden is not spread proportionally. The 800,000 taxpayers – that’s all of them – who show an individual income of more than €20,000 each per year – that is taxable income, not net income – are the ones who pay 65% of all taxes. Consequently in Greece, nine out of 10 pay one third of taxes and one in 10 pays two thirds.
The extensive tax evasion in Greece, the non-indexation of the tax scale in conditions of extreme price increases by eurozone standards, as well as a Greek peculiarity, i.e. the application of a very high rate to the taxation of individuals’ income and indeed from very low levels compared to European standards, are very strongly reflected in the tax returns.
They highlight the need to implement the goal set for Greece by both the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Commission: the broadening of the tax base. Limiting declared incomes to €80-85 billion when the country’s gross domestic product is reaching €205 billion and annual expenditures recorded in family budget surveys exceed €130 billion defies logic and highlights the extent of tax evasion.
Obviously, the fact that 67.7% of taxpayers show an individual income of less than €10,000, as a result of which they pay only 5% of all taxes, is not only due to tax evasion but also to other factors: high unemployment, poverty which in Greece exceeds 25%, widespread part-time employment, especially after the country’s entry into the bailout process, etc.
