No, there is no way to escape the long arm of Greek taxation and debt big brother – especially if you’re an average taxpayer, with a average or low income. Because if you’re rich, you have already brought your money abroad, parked in an some flowery and sunny tax- and offshore-paradise and you don’t care. With a recent series of ministerial decrees, the Finance Ministry has opened the way to tax officers to directly grab money from the bank accounts of debtors – with the noble cooperation of the banks.
“The tax offices have grabbed money from the bank accounts of 50,000 taxpayers since the beginning of the year,” writes daily TA NEA, “whether checking saving or payroll and pension accounts.” And have seized money even from received allowances – like unemployment allowance, even thought this is forbidden by law. Exactly as it is forbidden for the tax office to seize money from the salary and pension account, if the seizure leaves the account with less than 1,000 euro – i.e. the amount a citizen needs to come along within a month.
Law here and exception there, the seizures continue automatically often with leaving the account holders without a cent,
The cases of the latest state arbitrariness of emptying bank accounts are increasing and more and more citizens seek the aid of the … media to complain about the injustice.
Here is the case of a man, whose salary of 540EUR arrived to his account but 260EUR was immediately sent to the tax office by the bank. And moreover, without previous warning. When the man complained to the tax office, the latter blamed the bank for owing to have checked whether the account would have been left with 1,000 EUR. On its side, the bank justified its action saying that it could not do otherwise as there was an order by the tax office. The tax office answered later, that the man has to turn to justice.
Tired of the ping-pong between tax office and bank, the taxpayer turned to the media. One fine morning he went to the tax office together with a camera crew from a private television station. The tax office director called the police that detained the camera crew for “disturbing the work of a public institution.”
Seeking his right through the justice, would cost the troubled and low-salary taxpayer extra money to hire a lawyer and extra time. Unable to find his way out, the middle-aged man threatens to vote for Golden Dawn “just to punish the government,” as he claims.
UPDATE: the bank returned the money to the man. Obviously to restore the trust of the bank customer to the credit institute. The bank is to claim the money form the tax office.
And there is the case of an unemployed who went to the bank to pick up 362EUR unemployment allowance. All the money was gone. the bank had forwarded the 362EUR to the tax office where the jobless had a debt of 1,300EUR.
On private Skai TV, a man complained that the tax office violently grabbed all the money he had in his bank account: 500,12 EUR. For a traffic fine issued in 1992! Without further notice and warning. Apparently the fine was originally some 30-40EUR but reached immense 850EUR due to interest of more than 20 years. The man claimed he had not idea about the debt which was not appearing on the electronic tax system (taxisnet).
Odd, because normally such fines are being written-off after 20 years.
Banks and tax offices claim that the bank account holder has to specifically declare, whether their account if for salary or pension. Otherwise, cusotmers with debts to the state can see their money disappear.
PS What if the law says so, we are in emergency state of an economic war. “Grabbing private assets” is the only law valid…
