By G. Palaitsakis
[email protected]
The target for collection of arrears owed to the Greek state exceeds 5.6 billion euros in 2018, according to the Independent Public Revenues Authority, with the primary “tool” again expected to be stepped up – and increasingly streamlined – seizures of debtors’ deposits, wages and other assets.
Meeting primary budget surplus targets that the leftist-rightist government has ageed to, and reducing arrears owed to the Greek state, was outlined in a third update of the current bailout agreement.
According to a most recent agreement between the revenues authority and institutional creditors, as detailed in the updated memorandum, the former has promised to collect 2.8 billion euros from “older” arrears owed to the tax bureau. “Older” in this case means confirmed arrears before the end of the 2017.
Additionally, the revenues authority, as represented by its director, Giorgos Pitsilis, has promised to collect 24 percent of “new” arrears confirmed as of Jan. 1, 2018.
New arrears, on average per year, total around 12 billion euros, which means a “ballpark figure” of 2.88 billion euros in collected debts in this category.
