Galery

1

Google Εarth will be used by the Ministry of finance in its attempt to fight with the tax evasion. A team of 15 inspectors have undertaken the task of scanning the entire Greece and using a satellite to find pools, country houses, real estate properties which it will compare to the tax forms filed by the tax payers.

“Big brother” for the concealed pools, illegally built country houses and the big properties is already in action and has found pools which are either not declared by their owners or are declared but smaller in size. The owners will be called for the necessary specifications. The research of the financial inspectors is aiming mostly at the expensive regions of the southern and northern suburbs of the capital, however also at the islands where the luxurious country houses are popping up as mushrooms and their owners remain unknown or are known, however are declaring very low incomes.

“We are ready to use all means, even Google, in order to deal with and handle the tax evasion” said for Vima newspaper the Secretary General of the Ministry of finance Dimitris Georgakopoulos. “Everybody who has a pool and has not declared it have something to worry about” underlined Mr. Georgakopoulos. In the struggle for finding undeclared properties the tax authorities are using internet – last week the team of the Ministry of finance together with their colleagues from the Ministry of civil protection found websites publishing incorrect information claiming that in Greece drachmas are already being minted and also that advices are provided regarding how the interested parties could transfer money from Greece to Cyprus having in mind that according to the new tax law, a 15% tax will be imposed to the offshore companies from now on. The editors of the website will be transferred to the prosecutors office, as Mr. Georgakopoulos stated.

In their battle against tax evasion the Ministry of finance is even carrying out telephone researches! According to sources from the ministry the tax authorities are calling the neighbors of the tax payers they have marked that it is possible they conceal their taxes and to request information about their companies, the car repair shops and the small business. This is done because the telephone exchange with a three digit number which the citizens can call and file complaints for tax evasions has not given the desired results. The employees in pool companies or the owners of pools have already notified the authorities about how much a pool costs, how much its maintenance costs etc.