Only 10% of fines get paid
Tax authorities come up against various tricks by enterprises to avoid paying their dues
A very small percentage, often less than 10%, of fines imposed by the tax authorities are actually collected.
According to data by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), in audits carried out by the Large Business Inspection Center since the beginning of the year, taxes and fines of around 190 million euros have been imposed. Of that amount, only €16 million has been collected so far.
Also, the High Wealth Taxpayer Audit Center detected tax evasion of almost €100 million in audits it carried out. The collected amount, however, is limited to €13 million.
In fact, when the auditing authorities look for money in the accounts of the offenders, they find that there is no money and no assets in general. According to reports, the tax administration will start talks with companies such as Revolut in order to request details of Greeks who have accounts. AADE estimates that there are assets somewhere and with the planned changes they will be found.
The game of hide-and-seek between the tax authorities and inspected taxpayers does not stop here, however, as there are quite a few who appeal to justice. This move is aimed at delaying the payment of taxes and fines imposed on them by the tax or customs offices, with the state waiting up to five or even 10 years until the case is heard.
However, what is established by the audits is that the audacity of some fraudsters has no limits and despite the new tools used by the tax administration, they continue to hide income from the Greek state or do not issue receipts.
A new regulation by the Development Ministry aspires to end the practice of the frontmen some businesses employ so that they stand accused of any tax violations instead of the actual owners of a business. The regulation will forbid the appointment of a board member or other as the person fully responsible in court for the tax behavior of the entire enterprise. This is the practice known in Greek as “aftoforakias” – i.e. the person who gets arrested through the flagrant crime process.
