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| Venizelos: the heat is on for tax evaders in Greece |
Greeks owe
their state upwards of 40 billion euros. For the first time ever, tax
authorities have arrested top businessmen accused of not paying their taxes.
Now the finance ministry wants to do more to catch evaders.
What's been
happening in Greece over the last few days is something of a small revolution:
top businessman George Petzetakis, head of the world's leading company in
plastic pipe and hose systems, was taken into custody to face trial for tax
evasion to the tune of two million euros.
And then
the powerful publisher and television producer Kostas Giannikos was seen in
handcuffs, likewise charged with tax evasion. And the Greek tax authorities say
that further arrests are to follow.
Now Finance
Minister Evangelos Venizelos has threatened to put all evaders on the chopping
block - unless they turn themselves into authorities before Thursday evening
and clear their debts.
Pogrom
atmosphere 'poisonous to society'
Panayotis
Petrakis, professor of economics at the University of Athens, calculates that
the Greek state loses around five billion euros a year as a result of tax
evasion. The new tough line taken by the finance ministry is thus a very
welcome sign, he says, but it has at least one unpleasant side-effect.
"It is
unsettling that there's a kind of pogrom going on, with people being arrested
to make good headlines. This will poison our social climate," Petrakis
told Deutsche Welle.
It would be
much better, Petrakis argues, if the tax authorities would become more
efficient - without having the need for headlines. If you don't pay your taxes
in Greece, then you should face the law, he says. Is this not a self-evident
principle in 21st century Europe?
But it's
not only tax authorities which have to face their responsibility; just as
important, if not more so, is the role played by Greece's political leadership
. For it's up to the government to set the general framework for such measures.
In
Petrakis' eyes, Greece's political system has stood in the way of its own
survival and the fossilized structures of the state have prevented any national
progress.
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| Greek authorities are faced with a herculean task |
More empty threats?
Finance
Minister Venizelos has been threatening for months to pursue tax evaders
publicly. In mid-October he sad he would publish online entire lists of names
"next week." That deadline, however, had to be postponed for data
privacy reasons.
On Monday,
he set Thursday as the final deadline for all tax evaders - or at least, every
citizen owing the government over 150,000 euros in back taxes - to pay up. If
they don't report to the authorities by then, they risk having their names
published online.
Despite the
urgency with which Venizelos has gone after evaders, observers like political
activist Dionyssis Goussetis are still waiting to see action. "We're all
waiting with our tongues out for the list of tax evaders, which is constantly
being postponed. I wonder if this delay is to give evaders one last chance to
settle their debts, or whether some people are trying to gain a little time to
cover up their crimes."
Too often
have Greek politicians issued similar threats in the past, Goussetis added, only
for them to disappear: It's therefore "no surprise" that the
black-market economy accounts for over 30 percent of Greece's output.
Conditional
support
If anyone
is feeling the effects of the debt crisis in Greece, it's employees on low and
average income. Interim Prime Minister Lukas Papademos, who currently heads a
grand coalition of conservatives and socialists, could greatly increase the
people's support for unpopular austerity measures by asking higher earners and
tax evaders to pay up.
But Papademos
could still run into problems when trying to push such measures through his
grand coalition, Goussetis fears: "It was one thing for the two peoples'
parties [conservatives and socialists] to reach agreement on forming an interim
government, but I don't have the feeling that they stand behind Papademos
unconditionally."
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| The recent collection was a drop in the ocean |
Public
opinion on the Papademos government is divided; whereas some speak of a
government of "national recovery," others speak of a mere transitional
government or even of a cabinet formed with future election campaigns in mind,
says Goussetis. In other words: The same politicians who say openly that they
stand behind Papademos are those who actually trip him up.
In any
event, Venizelos' threat with regard to tax evaders has already begun to pay
off. Ever since the ultimatum was announced, and since the arrests of top Greek
businessmen, a number of petty tax evaders have turned themselves in, resulting
in revenues of some four million euros.
Without a
doubt it's a positive signal, but still a drop in the ocean for debt-stricken
Greece.
Author: Jannis Papadimitriou, Athens / glb
Editor: Michael Lawton
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