Greece Publishes List Of Tax Evaders

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

26 January 2012

True to its word, in a determined bid to clamp down on rampant tax evasion, the Greek government has recently published a list of individuals alleged to have evaded taxes in Greece to the tune of almost EUR15bn (USD19.5bn).

Given that tax evasion, coupled with inefficient tax collection, is one of the biggest problems currently facing debt-ridden Greece, a solution could serve to assist the government to avoid bankruptcy, although ministry officials have already warned that it will be extremely difficult to collect many of the outstanding debts.

The government of Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has taken a hard stance against tax evaders over the course of the last few months.

Back in November, the Greek finance ministry issued an ultimatum urging individuals alleged to have evaded taxes in excess of EUR150,000 to declare their position to the country’s tax authorities and to settle their accounts, warning that failure to do so within the specified timeframe would lead to publication of individual names.

In October, Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos announced plans to publish the names of around 15,000 individuals alleged to have evaded taxes in Greece.

Describing tax evasion as a "national crime", which has resulted in a shortfall in tax revenues for the state of around EUR37bn, Venizelos confirmed at the time that it has now been possible for the state to successfully track down individuals said to have evaded over EUR1m in tax.

Revealing that Greek tax officials in collaboration with private companies would now endeavour to recoup the money, the minister also emphasized that a new task force has been set up charged with auditing the thousand biggest companies in Greece in terms of turnover.

In addition, Greece and Switzerland have reportedly initiated talks recently on concluding a deal to enable the government to track undisclosed accounts. Estimates of Greek wealth in Switzerland vary widely between tens of billions of euros and over EUR100bn.

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