ECONOMY

Black-list threat for tax dodgers

The Finance Ministry is activating new electronic applications aimed at beating tax evasion and preparing a “black list” of enterprises that issue bogus invoices or do not pay their value-added tax.

The first application relies on the threat that enterprises which fail to submit quarterly VAT declarations for two quarters in a row along with the monthly submission of their client base will have their tax registration numbers deactivated.

If a company or a self-employed professional proceeds to a transaction with an enterprise that has not submitted a VAT declaration and is black-listed, then the tax authorities will not recognize the invoice.

The second application concerns a property register that will be ready next year and will be used to monitor taxpayers’ data.

At the moment the ministry is in the process of collecting data from third parties (such as expenditure on cars, yachts, tuition fees etc).

According to what Haris Theoharis, the general secretary for public revenues, told the Taxheaven.gr website, electronic rental contracts will start soon, along with the obligatory monthly submission of transaction and client lists, the deactivation of tax registration numbers, the automatic offsetting of debts and the creation of an electronic property register.

“I would describe the property register as similar to the land register. Just as the land register reflects all of the country’s real estate, the property register will reflect all the property belonging to the citizens,” said Theoharis.

The methodology of the property register is based on the principle that the necessary data ought to be collected first from third sources to be cross-check with what taxpayers declare, said Theoharis.

The ministry is currently conducting a census of cars and yachts; it already has data on insurance premiums, tuition fees, bank account interest etc in its register.

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