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Victoria Mindova

All the companies without a limit on how high their turnover is due to enter the list of those subject to tax amnesty. According to the initial plan of the government the emergency measure, affects the companies and sole traders with an annual turnover of 20 million euros. Business circles in the country, however, argued that if the government started raising money in this way they should not exclude large corporations. Their motives for this is that in this way are only burdened the small and medium businesses with additional financial load at a time of low liquidity and decreased commercial turnover.

Removing the ceiling on the turnover was only one of the proposals of the representatives of business organizations and commercial and industrial unions. They were invited to a public hearing at the Ministry of Finance, only a day after the publication of draft bill regarding the tax amnesty. According to the federation of tax officials the deadline for submitting documents for tax amnesty also seems unrealistic – 12th November this year. Experts say that the volume of business is too big for all documents to be submitted and processed in that period.

Other proposals presented at the first meeting for public dialogue on the issue of amnesty was the cancellation of the minimum level of the first installment of 25% as well as the monthly doses of 500 euros to at least 300 euros. According to representatives of chambers of commerce and industry in Greece, many of the businesses are currently experiencing difficulties to repay their current debts, making it even more difficult to pay the additional financial amounts to the state. Thus came the proposal for the increase of the payout period of the accumulated liabilities to 36 months or three whole years, instead of the planned by the Ministry of finance 12 months. The representatives of the business circles also suggested that the estimated amount for the amnesty to be based not on turnover (as stipulated in the initial version of the bill) but on profits. As a reward to companies and sole traders on the other hand which have not had any tax violations in the past the associations of traders and industrialists offer that the rate, according to which is calculated the amount payable to be reduced from 2% to 1%. The 2 percent on the other hand to apply only to taxpayers, in which violations were registered in the past.

Particular impression made the word "sinner", which was widely used, was in the talks between the business and the representatives of the finance ministry. In an informal conversation a Greek economic analyst explained for GRReporter’s readers, that as presumed the individuals and businesses which are subject to tax amnesty have not been fair in presenting the data in their annual statements for the period 2000-2009 year. With payment of their accumulated amounts the businesses are exempt from the possibility of being subjected to additional tax audit, and thus exempt from their old probable "sins" toward the tax authorities. During this it became clear that the need for tax amnesty is triggered also by the lack of sufficient staff in the regional tax inspections to carry out regular tax inspections throughout the fiscal year.