Greece's tax chief, "Ms. Lagarde is right". "If we could recover even half of them (taxes evaded),

[pampango]

Greece would have solved its problem," said Nikos Lekkas chief of Greek Tax Police Authority.

http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/europas-schuldenkrise/frau-lagarde-hat-recht-steuerfahnder-beklagt-griechische-zahlungsmoral-11777804.html

The head of the Greek Tax Police Authority has endorsed the controversial criticism of IMF chief Christine Lagarde at the tax morale of the Greeks. He agreed completely with Lagarde, said Nikos Lekkas to the daily newspaper "Die Welt ". The tax evasion in his country amounts to 12 and 15 percent of annual economic output. "If we could recover even half of them, Greece would have solved its problem."

Lagarde referred to citizens in heavily indebted Greece in late May in an interview when she called for tax compliance, to lead the country out of crisis. Children in some parts of Africa need "more help than the people of Athens," she said. The interview had triggered a wave of indignation in Greece.

Tax Police chief Lekkas said that many investigations have failed due to lack of cooperation of Greek banks. His authority with more than 5,000 tax evasion cases has applied for account access, but only 214 cases had been previously granted this. Concern in 500 cases, the politicians, the financial police have been waiting five months to obtain information.

Greece is in recession for years. In return for billions in loans from the IMF and the European Union, the government voted out in early May from Socialists and Conservatives had committed themselves to a drastic austerity program. Learned after the election, in which parties hostile to austerity did very well, no new government came into being.

This is a google translation from German.

We all know which percentage (the top 1%) of Greek citizens is guilty of tax evasion.

There are several cases of Tax exemptions under the Greek taxation system, these are as follows:

Proceeds from the sale of shares that are traded on the Athens Stock Exchange.
Income from ships and shipping.
A dividend received from a Greek company.
Capital gain from sale of a business between family members, as defined by law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Greece

Something tells me that the Greek 99% don't benefit much from no tax on stock market profits, income from shipping and dividends paid by Greek companies. While Greeks are right to fight 'austerity' imposed from the outside (it impacts the 99% not the 1% who caused the problem), they need to revamp their domestic tax collection system as well.

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. "applied for account access"

Walk in and take it or put a padlock on the door.

What the fuck.

[pampango]

2. Good point. The tax authorities in Greece must not have much legal power to force banks

to comply with their "applications for account access".

Perhaps the same power that won all the tax exemptions for the rich was also able to hamstring the tax authorities from pursuing tax evasion cases.

[kemah]

3. Cutting off their electricity to make them pay.

Greeks just refuse to pay their taxes without any consequences, but I read some where that the government is now cutting off their electricity until they pay their back taxes.