Greek Finance Ministry extended the procedure to ‘regulate’ overdue taxpayers’ debts until 29. June 2012. The extension refers to debts to the state after they became overdue until 29. February 2012. Private persons with debts up to 10,000 euro and companies with debts up to 75,000 euro are eligible to pay their debts in installments.
With the ghost of broke state coffers above his head, caretaker Finance Minister Giorgos Zannias is going to seek ways and explore the possibility of cross-checks concerning Greece’s taxpayers who bought real estate in the UK, transferred money abroad during the least two years and interest rates from deposits in banks abroad.
These cross-checks will refer to companies that made submission to be admitted to Poverty Article 99, debtors of more than 75,000 euro and big scale debtors.
How will this happen in reality is a miracle as such investigations often need the lifting of banking privacy. However the FinMin is devoted to chase them through bi- or multilateral EU agreements.
Under the magnifying glass of FinMin inspectors will come also those with big wealth in assets and properties.
Confiscations of Salary, Assets, Properties
Greek Finance Ministry is adamant to collect at least 2 billion euro from outstanding debts of 45 billion until the end of the year. Estimated 1,000,000 debtors will be called to pay old debts, not matter if they have the money or got impoverished through the economic crisis.
Until the end of June the FinMin plans to collect 400 million euro. Therefore a circular urges tax officers to immediately proceed even into confiscations of salaries, pensions, properties, assets, cars, bank deposits and whatever movable or unmovable possessions in the name of the debtor.
25% of salary, pension or other kind of income would be confiscated by the state if the debtor does not meet the call of the …wild.
Priority for the debtor hunters will be leasers, owners of luxury cars, those owing the state more than 3,000 euro and have real estate properties.
In the relevant circular the FinMin demands also the confiscation of bank deposits and lawsuits against those owing more than 5,000 euro.
If the state owes to the debtor the amount will be automatically balanced with the debt and without notice.
If the debt is higher than 5,000 euro, legal measures like lawsuits will be implemented.
Should the debtor accept the regulation procedure the smallest installment can be 100 euro.
502 Debtors’ Arrested for 1 Billion euro Debts
502 debtors owing the state 922,452,979,95 euro were arrested in the time from November 2011 until March 2012 in terms of combating tax evasion, black economy and insurance contributions evasion.
From those 502 people, 446 were men, 495 Greeks and 7 foreigners.
It has not been revealed how much money landed inside the state coffers after these arrests. And whether the arrested are in prison or go around on bail.
PS Instead of chasing debtors of 3,000-5,000 euro and seize their home, their car or their salary and pension Greek tax officers could start right away with the big debtors. But they have better means to escape the mechanism, right?
