greece tax evasion swimming pools

TARGETED_ADS: 4, } The most common is the issue of false invoices -a common practice especially in small and medium-sized companies-, which aims to both reduce the income tax and the VAT companies need to pay, as well as showing false losses. bring in around 24 billion. Itappears to be even more acute in Greece; according to several studies, tax evasion in our country is substantially higher than in other developed countries. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1.25inch Diameter Accessory Swimming Pool Pump Replacement Hose Adapter,T Type at the best online prices at eBay! This appears to bechanging, however. Around 60% of global trade takes place within multinational groups with intra-group transactions, where there is ample room for tax avoidance. As a property owner in Greece, an individual should be aware of and consider the various taxes for properties in Greece. Gift tax is now levied on the amount of 800,000, and corporate tax and VAT rates have been reduced for businesses. Greece's gov't budget is about 120 billion these days . mps._adsheld = []; 'stitle' : 'Greece Swimming Pool and Car Tax RTRS 130710' , It used the same registered agent as the Greek military contractor, Commonwealth Trust Limited. "We exchanged views and, at the end of the day, the realistic proposals on the table are those of the Greek government. For any amount between 12.001 euro and 35.000 euro, the tax applied is 35%. For example, if you earn 50.000, your tax will be 9850 for the first 35.000 euros, plus 45% of the remaining 15.000, which totals an amount of 16.600. This is asummary of the basic results. But who is paying taxes? They bragged of using aerial photographs to get tax evaders who failed to declare their swimming pools on tax returns as required. Our forum rules are detailed in the Community Guidelines. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. if (EEA_REGION_COUNTRY_CODES.includes(result.geo.country_code)) { Both the European Union and the OECD have developed tools to fight tax evasion, andthere is a rich history of policies fighting the problem in other countries, which is worth studying. What were the tax inspectors doing here? The Financial Times reported last week: }); mps.cloneAd = function() { return false; } mps.insertAd("#" + slotid, adunit) According to court records, Harris invested nearly 145,000 ($130,000) in the boat and gave 14.3 million ($13 million) as a loan in exchange for a 4 percent share in the partnership. It is not synonymous with tax evasion. In Greece, various studies have calculated that the shadow economy makes up between 20 to 30% of GDP, an unusually high percentage for a developed country. Athens' proposals are just one side of the story, however, with Greece's creditors suggesting their own for the struggling nation. if (window.mps) { Marina Walker Guevara is the deputy director of ICIJ. This was but one example of how upper middle-class Greek citizens hide their assets . and the income tax will be recalculated, as swimming pools are among the assets whose . Corporate Taxation in Greece. And yet, the eurozone has an average tax evasion of 19%, and the USA is at 17% (of very low tax rates, comparatively). Such incomes defy belief, said Ilias Plaskovitis, the general secretary of the Finance Ministry, who has been in charge of revamping the country's tax laws. ', window.location); Since the crisis began, this number has increased dramatically: by2013 it had reached 40.5%. Guide to Real Estate Photography (Greek PDF), Taxes for foreigners who own properties in Greece, Properties with swimming pools, either indoor or outdoor ones, are subject to a tax called , For properties with swimming pools, another tax-related amount occurs. According to the relevant academicliterature, there are three parameters that determine the level of tax evasion in an economy: Whether or not a citizen or a business will evade taxes is a decision that is essentially affected by these three factors. Mr. Alexiadis pointed out that Greece has only 0.87 auditors for every 1,000 citizens, compared with Germanys rate of 1.36 and Belgiums 2.67. Some of the most aggressive tax evaders, experts say, are the self-employed, a huge pool of people in this country of small businesses. })(); mps._queue.mpsloaded = mps._queue.mpsloaded || []; ", Last week, a Burger King franchise owner from Texas closed more than two dozen locations around Detroit, Michigan. mps._urlContainsEmail = function() { There is a truth that is more or less valid throughout the world: the self-employed and small businesses avoid paying theirtaxes. Mr. Plaskovitis said that tax collectors had already begun using technology to crosscheck claims and that they had taken steps like asking luxury car dealerships for list of their clients. if (typeof mps.getAd != "function") mps.getAd = function(adunit) { Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit, Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower, Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower. Various studies, including one by the Federation of Greek Industries last year, have estimated that the government may be losing as much as $30 billion a year to tax evasion a figure that would have gone a long way to solving its debt problems. })(); if (result && result.geo && result.geo.country_code) { On February 21, 2007, a Cyprus law firm created an offshore company in the BVI called Karpathia Ltd. Greece Bailout To Tax Its Ability To . After the meeting, Juncker said that some progress had been made, but that it was insufficient. The partners goal was to refurbish the yacht and restore its past glory, so they could charter it profitably. // check for region and redirect if country is in EEARegion if (cStart !== -1) { Tax Evasion in Greece. if (cEnd === -1) { ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece are using drones to buzz over boats running day trips on the Aegean at the start of a new effort aimed at cracking down on rampant tax evasion at holiday hotspots. The countrys revenues have been more or less steadily decreasing since 2010, with the largest decrease occuring in indirect tax revenues. The "rich" were bearing the countrys tax burden. For 2015 it was calculated to make up around 22.4% of Greece's GDP which, in absolute numbers, comes out to about40 billion. But still, that feeling is out there.. CONTENT_SELECTION_AND_MEASUREMENT: 7, When a journalist, Kostas Vaxevanis, published the list last year, he was charged with infringement of privacy but was acquitted and is now being retried. In the meantime, Harris made news in Ireland in 2008 for winning a court judgment of 9 million in income tax refunds, a decision that upheld his deduction for his expenses in buying and remodeling of the Christina O through the Cook Islands limited partnership. A spokesman for Greece's ruling Syriza party raised the possibility that Athens could defer the IMF debt. "I guess we should be taking all comments with a pinch of salt at the moment and just recognize that this is an improvement on the rhetoric coming from both camps prior to a couple of weeks ago. 1730 Rhode Island Ave NW, Suite 317 Such incomes defy belief, said Ilias Plaskovitis, the general secretary of the Finance Ministry, who has been in charge of revamping the countrys tax laws. But what we have got now is not simplified. But drama over management of the Christina O ensued, and they ended up in the London Court of International Arbitration. 29%. Harry Karanikas is a reporter for the newspaper Ta Nea. Some say tax troubles are usually solved in a three way split: You pay a third of what you owe to the government, a third to the collector and a third remains in your pocket. If tax rates are low, the motive for tax evasion is smaller. As the nation of Greece teeters on the edge of bankruptcy, its tax authorities are taking aim at Greece's notorious tax-evading rich elite. Kanellopoulos said that in 1998 his team at the Finance Ministry discovered the shocking scale of Greek offshore interests 2,400 companies registered in tax havens in the Pacific and the English Channel. For example: The Greek state's annual revenue hoversaround 50 billion. Boing Boing uses cookies and analytics trackers, and is supported by advertising, merchandise Finding Swimming Pools with Google Earth Greek Government Hauls in Billions in Back Taxes In a bid to increase revenues, the Greek authorities are employing all kinds of clever tricks to. For these provisions 111 ministerial decrees and 138 explanatory circulars were published. In other words, 2.8 million citizens paid a total of 60 million euros in taxes 21.4 each. Tax evasion in Greece is a difficult, structural problem of the Greek economy. Nearly half of them (49%) featured declaredincomes below 12,000. ARCHANES, Greece The tax inspectors swept into this picturesque village in Crete during the middle of a saint's day celebration recently, moving from restaurant to restaurant demanding. They said, Yes, yes, we have heard that before, but it never happens, he said. The orders from above were to do everyday tax processing, she said. Read MoreEuropean stocks close lower, Greece in spotlight. For instance, newsstand owners could simply claim that they earned an income of 12,000 euros (about $15,900) and no questions were asked. But in recent months, the union has begun to fight back, speaking out on a number of issues and starting a poster campaign telling citizens that the collectors are not at fault. Charter prices start at $60,000 a day for a small group. The Greek government submitted a multi-pronged draft law to parliament late on Tuesday, scrambling to pass policies agreed with its international lenders as conditions for the release of further bailout funding. Personal Income Tax Rates in Greece. We do not believe you need a Porsche to sell Coca-Cola, he said. 'https' : 'http') + '://pix.nbcuni.com/a-pii.gif?X=piiblock&S=' + mps.pagevars.instance + '&P=' + mps.pagevars.mpsid + '&A=' + i + '&U=' + encodeURIComponent(window.location.href) + '&_=' + window._mpspixZ; 'path' : '/id/100875192' , . 'subtype' : 'section' , For instance, the president of the union for doctors who work in state hospitals, Stathis Tsoukalos, 60, calls the loss of a special tax status for his doctors wrongheaded and unfair. The courts have ruled that the threat of losing electricity is illegal. If Greece is ever going to get its public finances in order and escape grinding budget austerity, it will have to do a better job collecting taxes. Non-Dom Tax Regime On the eve of an International Monetary Fund bailout deal that is sure to call for deep sacrifices here, including harsh austerity measures, layoffs and steep tax increases, many Greeks say they feel chastened by the financial crisis that has pushed the country to the edge of bankruptcy. The Greek documents ICIJ analyzed are part of a trove of 2.5 million secret offshore files . The trio use a novel technique to calculate levels of tax evasion in Greece. var mps = mps || {}; Vakakis did not answer detailed questions sent to him by ICIJ, but he said in an email: I have declared officially all without exception my transactions that should be announced in public, as provided by relevant Greek legislation.. Being flexible over reforms could be critical for Greece as it looks to avoid defaulting on its immediate and forthcoming debts to the IMF and ECB. However, there are other means of tax avoidancefor large multinational corporations. On the other hand, the 8% of taxpayers who declared income above 42,000 -around 400,000 citizens in total- paid 69% of the total personal income taxes. Previous political leaders were hesitant to effectively tackle the problem, perpetuating the culture of lawlessness and the justifiable lack of . if (typeof window === 'undefined') return; Hopes of an agreement between Greece and the bodies overseeing its aidthe European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF)were raised on Wednesday after the lenders appeared to be ready to compromise, offering Greece room for maneuver on certain aspects of its bailout program. Just a 15% reduction in tax evasion would cover that cost. They did not. Documents obtained by ICIJ reveal that the single shareholder behind the mysterious entity was Apostolos Vakakis, chairman of the retail conglomerate Jumbo SA, one of Greeces largest companies. Got a confidential news tip? mps._queue.adview = mps._queue.adview || []; Yet only 324 households in those areas had ticked the box on their income tax forms admitting to pool ownership. For most cases of owners who have to pay property taxes in Halkidiki, only ENFIA applies, and the amounts are relatively low for the area. The tax administration is planning to uncover undeclared swimming pools across Greece with the use of aerial photographs taken by Google Maps and the electronic cross-checking of the findings with the data from the land register and the E9 tax form. Even tax expertsoften have a limited knowledge ofwhat is legal and what is not. return '' And oh, just in case anyone is thinking, "hey Kid Dynamite - don't be an idiot - maybe those other 16,650 people aren't required to file tax returns," well - I looked into that, and found this: everyone in Greece has to file a tax return, regardless of income: designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated s.src = "https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/files/2020/03/28/VisitorAPI.js"; Read the rules you agree to by using this website in our Terms A government survey by aircraft two years ago found thousands of Greeks had swimming pools but didn't list them so they could avoid being taxed. Published 3:23 AM ET Wed, . It was here where, in 1957, John F. Kennedy and Winston Churchill met for the first time and where, in 1968, owner Aristotle Onassis and Jackie Kennedy held their wedding reception. The tax systems of mostdeveloped countries rely more on direct taxes for that reason. . Financial police inspectors found delinquency rates ranging from 50-100% during raids on major tourist resorts in Greece over the last month, including the cosmopolitan islands of Mykonos, Santorini, Zakynthos and Corfu, the Greek police revealed on Monday. Service, a Creative Commons When only 324 residents in the ritzy suburbs of Athens admitted to having one, tax collectors knew they were. So tax investigators studied satellite photos of the area a sprawling collection of expensive villas tucked behind tall gates and came back with a decidedly different number: 16,974 pools. } In the past, Greek authorities derided the countrys tax collectors as lazy and corrupt, blaming them for many of the problems with the system. Haris Theoharis, Greeces secretary general for public revenues, agreed with some of the unions arguments, including that there are too few auditors. According to research by the Ministry of Labour, 27% of those working undeclared had asked theiremployers to allow it. According to the studies: Revenue lost due to personal income tax evasion ranges from 1.9% to 4.7% of annual GDP. 'cag[configuration_franchise]' : 'Europe News' , } Nikolis Geniatakis, at his restaurant in Archanes, Greece. console.log('PUB-GDPR-CHECK oneTrustCookie matches: ', matches); } With its canopied decks and marble bathtubs, the 325-foot Christina O yacht symbolizes an era in Greece. In July 2007, Karpathia purchased 3.5 million convertible bonds issued by Jumbo SA for 36.7 million ($49.7 million), according to records from Greeces security and exchange commission. "It's not just lavish marketing and READ THE REST, After Vince McMahon's litany of sexual misconduct and misuse of company funds allegations became public last year, WWE's board of directors insisted that the once and future chairman shouldresign from READ THE REST, We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. After learning aboutICIJ's findings, the Greek Finance Ministry said it would examine the data and determine whether there'sany evidence of improper or illegal conduct byowners of offshore companies. In particular, attempts to cast a broad net have only fueled public anger at the wealthy, who are often seen as the main culprits. const EEA_REGION_COUNTRY_CODES = ['AT', 'BE', 'BG', 'HR', 'CY', 'CZ', 'DK', 'EE', 'FI', 'FR', 'DE', 'GR', 'HU', 'IS', 'IE', 'IT', 'LV', 'LI', 'LT', 'LU', 'MT', 'NL', 'NO', 'PL', 'PT', 'RO', 'SK', 'SI', 'ES', 'SE', 'CH', 'TR', 'GB']; })(); of After the 2008 recession, the government placed a luxury tax on private pools. var postLoadFunctions = {}; A 2008 European Union report on Greece tax shortfalls found that between 2000 and 2007,. The taxes that may arise from property ownership are the following: The amount of money earned by rent is taxed independently from any other income. var mpscall = { TL;DR:This Mother's Day, give your mom READ THE REST, We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. The Finance Ministry said recently in Parliament that two audits have been completed so far. During the crisis, citizens pay around the same direct taxes that they paid before, despite the fact that they have much lower incomes than before. French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron told CNBC in Paris Wednesday that Europe's leaders were committed to "find(ing) a solution to keep Greece in the euro zone," but that this required equal commitment from the Greek government. It has to do with the economy's structure, the high number of self-employed workers, the smallaverage size of companies. Interoperability Systems International Hellas S.A. is one of the companies that since 2003 has participated in a $242 million contract for the production of electronic warfare equipment for Greek F-16 fighter jets. }); var _qs = window.location.href; Many Greeks say tax collectors have a reputation for being among the easiest officials to bribe. As for the Christina O, she still boasts her famous mosaic swimming pool that converts into a dance floor and the barstools Aristotle Onassis had upholstered in fine leather made from minke whale foreskins. There areseveral other tricks companies use to avoid paying VAT and fraudulently reducing declared profits. In our study on extreme poverty in Greece, we described a package of measures that could help 1 million Greeksrise above the poverty line. Greece is pinning its hopes of boosting revenue from an antiquated tax system beset by massive evasion on Harry Theoharis, a boyish-looking 42-year-old who describes himself as an "I.T. "You cannot heat this house or buy the gas for the car with that kind of income. The fight against tax evasion is a challenge for every state in the world.
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