Word: greek
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...Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has put tax reform at the heart of his austerity plan, and says his government is serious about fixing the roots of his country's current economic predicament. He says Greece will tackle its deficit without the deep government-wage or job cuts that other heavily indebted European countries, like Ireland, Spain and Portugal, have recently announced. Instead, Athens will pursue tax evaders. "Greece's problems," Papandreou told journalists at a press conference marking his first 100 days in office, "are due to waste, corruption and lack of respect towards...
While Dimitris insisted his identity be hidden, there is little chance he'd be caught or seriously sanctioned for his crimes. In 2007, the last year for which statistics are available, Greek authorities prosecuted only 10 people for tax-related crimes that carried a potential jail sentence...
Calculating the full cost of tax evasion in Greece is nearly impossible. The Greek government estimates the shadow, or untaxed economy, is about 30% of the declared economy, among the largest black markets in the 16-member euro zone...
Widespread evasion feeds the Greek attitude that only the stupid pay taxes. Little wonder that Greece's tax revenue is among the lowest in the European Union, 19.8% of GDP (excluding social security) compared to an E.U. average of 26.1%. (Italy's take is 29.1%, Portugal's 24.5%, Spain's 20.7%). Only a handful of E.U. countries - the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania - do worse. And none of them use the euro. (Read: "Is the Euro the New Dollar...
Every Jan. 6, Greeks celebrate Epiphany with a ceremony full of symbolism and hope. All over the country, priests throw a gold cross into open water and young men dive in to retrieve it. The winners get a blessing on the spot; everyone else takes home some holy water for a trouble-free new year. Newly elected Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou attended ceremonies on the Aegean island of Lesbos this year, but with Greece sinking under debt and a huge budget deficit as fast as a priest's crucifix, Papandreou is going to need more than holy water...