Three years after Greece sought the money of IMF and drained every employee, pensioner and property owner with unbearable taxes, Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras openly admits: there is still a caste of people the tax authorities do not dare to touch. People with millions in the bank who declare income below the tax-free cap. People like lawyers, famous singers or even mayors, just to mention a few.
In a letter to tax offices, Yiannis Stournaras wrote among others:
“We provide political coverage. I will explain what I mean. we constantly receive phone calls from tax officials, supervisors and inspectors, who ask “I have data about this big lawyer, or that famous singer or about mayor X. Should I chase him?”People ask, because for many years there were the so-called« untouchables »in Greek society, ie those who nobody dared to touch. That is people who have millions in the bank and declare income … below the tax-free cap [i.e. 5,000 euro].”Yiannis Stournaras concluded his note to tax officers, that “even the Pope will have to pay taxes.”