Bid to attract undeclared cash abroad
Greece is planning to hold talks with representatives from the troika, who will be in Athens on Monday for the latest review of the country’s fiscal adjustments program, on the idea of offering incentives to Greeks to bring their undeclared money back from abroad.
Kathimerini understands the government wants to create a scheme whereby Greeks with deposits abroad pay a relatively small fine to bring funds back as long as it is for investment purposes. The government wants to ensure such an initiative is not perceived to be a form of amnesty for tax evaders, so apart from linking the incentive to investment in the Greek economy, it also plans to announce it at the same time as the creation of Greece’s first assets register, which will be used as a tool to clamp down on tax dodgers.
However, it is not clear if the troika will accept such a proposal. In November, the government had proposed that Greeks seeking to repatriate undeclared earnings pay a fine amounting to 8 percent of the total to avoid any further legal action or penalties. The troika rejected the suggestion.
EU Task Force officials had suggested at the time that such a measure could only be accepted if Greece’s tax inspection system was able to pursue all those with undeclared assets who did not take up the amnesty offer.
