A draft bill, ostensibly aimed at combating the sale of bootleg tobacco products, nevertheless includes numerous and noteworthy changes in the way Greece’s tax bureau conducts inspections and audits.
By G. Kouros
A draft bill, ostensibly aimed at combating the sale of bootleg tobacco products, nevertheless includes numerous and noteworthy changes in the way Greece’s tax bureau conducts inspections and audits.
The bill was tabled in Greece’s 300-MP Parliament on Wednesday.
Among others, one proposed change deals with on-site inspections in households, with the presence of a court bailiff mandated in the bill. Previously, an order by a relevant prosecutor was only necessary to give the finance ministry that right, although tax inspectors entering private homes on a daily basis remains an extremely rare occasion in the country. Another proposed change is the elimination of discounts for the unpopular property tax (ENFIA), a regime that the current leftist government left in place once it assumed power.
Other changes deal with the publication of the names of taxpayers and companies with major arrears to social security funds; the tax regime for farmers; registration fees for used vehicles, as well as cuts in the previously very punitive fines imposed in instances where bogus invoices were discovered.
The finance ministry last week inaugurated a webpage listing the names of major debtors to the tax bureau (more than 150K euros), a “shaming” method that is expected to be used for arrears to social security funds as well.
On the positive side, for taxpayers, the bill stipulates that re-audit can be conducted only when incriminating evidence arises.