By G. Palaitsakis
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The Greek state’s “take” from two eponymous lists of Greek citizens with deposits abroad - along with probes of cash transfers to overseas accounts since 2010 - has yielded infinitesimal results compared with the often populist-tinged rhetoric that characterized political debate during the crisis years.
The two most prominent lists, named “Largarde” and “Borjans”, respectively, for the two European officials that provided Greek authorities with the data, were at the epicenter of debate in the country regarding issues of widespread tax evasion and money laundering.
Just as disappointing, according to official figures presented this week in Parliament by the relevant deputy finance minister, are the level of fines and duties collected from fuel and tobacco products smuggling.
In reply to a tabled question by main opposition New Democracy (ND) party, Deputy Minister Ekaterini Papanatsiou and top officials from the newly established independent public revenue authority supplied detailed figures from audits on individuals whose names were found on the lists and from related investigations.
Specifically, 2,062 Greek taxpayers were located on the “Lagarde list” of depositors at the HSBC branch in Geneva. Between 2014 and the end of April 2017 roughly 25 percent of those individuals had been audited (519 cases), of which only 10.18 percent were completed, i.e. 210 cases.
Confirmed back taxes and fines slapped on taxpayers from the 210 concluded audits reached 256 million euros, or 1.22 million euros, on average, for each case.
Nevertheless, only 43.477 million euros actually flowed into state coffers from the 256 million euros registered from the 210 concluded audits.
The other list, named for Norbert Walter Borjan, the finance minister of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, includes 10,588 Greek taxpayers or citizens with deposits at another Swiss-based bank, USB.
Between April 2016 and until April 2017 214 audits were conducted, with 11 concluded. Confirmed back taxes and fines reached, on paper, 10.918 million euros. A probe was subsequently initiated into another 28 cases, of which three were concluded – adding another 1.79 million euros of confirmed debts to the tally.
However, in terms of actual money collected by the state, up until May 14, 2017, only 137,188 euros was received – just one percent of confirmed arrears.
Finally, of approximately 25.000 bank transfers recorded as exceeding 100,000 euros between 2009 and 2011, nearly 2,300 audits were conducted between 2014 and April 2017.
Confirmed back taxes and fines from these audits reached 415.23 million euros, with 44.13 million (10.62 percent of the total), however, actually collected by the state.
