TACKLING GREECE`S REAL PROBLEM: TAX ESCAPISTS

Two years ago, Greece had its third bailout since 2010 amid an impending departure from the Eurozone. The country was able to secure a loan worth 86B euros along with a number of requirements and conditions from creditors, which includes a task to address the widespread tax evasion conflict that plagued the nation for years.

While many believe the conflict lies in excessive spending by the government, this is not exactly true. Instead, the culprit is the rampant dodging of duties, which have already reached an estimated 20B euros annually. This practice had been considered a social norm in the state, as several professionals have resorted to underreporting their salaries and keeping the undisclosed amounts for their benefit.

For starters, although there are measures imposed to cut the expenses of the administration, such as reducing pensions, the total public expenditures of Greece have stayed stayed below the EU average. Despite the 2008 financial crisis that prompted them to spend more, their overall rate in 2014 is only at 49.3%, which was well in line with the standard 49.3%. A more definite struggle is due to insufficient revenues, which is not because of low tax rates, but on the prevalent illegal non-payment of contributions.

Initially, officials have proposed to use the tourism sector to conduct a crackdown on the crime, since it comprises around 20% of their total GDP and is considered as one of the major industries. However, is is not included in the primary suspects behind the issue, as those responsible mainly belong to other industries such as law, medicine, media, and engineering.

These professionals are considered as self-employed, hence is part of their obligations to declare their income. A research based on records from banks revealed that these individuals are splitting around 82% of their wages for service debts when in fact, this is prohibited since as a general rule, banks should not allow loans where debt compensation make up over 30% of salary. This move does not necessarily mean they are saddled in arrears, since what they are actually doing is omitting significant amounts from their earnings report.

The study also discovered that this practice have already summed up to 28B euros in in lost revenues. The money hidden were said to be sent in foreign accounts, mostly in Switzerland wherein it was believed that billions of cash were stashed. In order to counter this, the regime has proposed an amnesty that will levy a 21% tax on holdings kept in these accounts.