By T. Tsiros
The rate of collection for tax arrears this year must reach a substantial – by Greek bureaucratic standards – 84 percent, whereas seizures of bank deposits for money owed to the tax bureau must be imposed, by the end of 2018, on 59 out of 100 taxpayers in Greece with more than 500 euros in arrears.
The collection rate, among others, is directly listed in an update of the ongoing – and third consecutive – bailout memorandum, and refers to targets that the Independent Public Revenues Authority must meet in 2018.
Out of the whopping 101 billion euros now considered as total arrears to the Greek state – tax bureau, social security funds, customs etc. – the revenues authority must collect at least 2.8 billion euros in 2018. As previously reported by “N”, however, a vast amount of this figure dates back decades, often corresponding to companies no longer in existence or taxpayers no longer alive. As such, a very large chunk of the arrears are deemed as beyond collection.
However, in terms of new arrears – ones recorded after Jan. 1, 2018 – the Greek state must collect 24 euros out of every 100 euros in newly created debt – a memorandum-mandated obligation at this point.
At the same time, the processing of quarterly VAT remittances must be completed within 90 days of submission, with the clearance rate target being 95 percent.
The Independent Public Revenues Authority’s performance in fulfilling targets in 2017 will be published in the first half of February 2018.
