An electronic platform through which taxpayers can report events tax avoidance developed Independent Government Revenue Authority (AADE) and which is expected to be operational shortly.

Despite intensive efforts with the help of new technologies to limit tax evasion, it is taking on a particularly high scale and is carried out both by freelancers who hide taxable material, and by indirect taxes, in particular, VAT. The level of tax evasion was also the most important reason why governments in the era of financial crisis and memos increased the tax burden on individuals and businesses to cover budget deficits, combined with high tax-exempt limits and incentives. .

As recently presented by the GSEE in the study Uneven distribution of the tax burden on households in Greece, on average across the EU countries, for every euro collected from direct taxes, there is 1 euro collected from indirect taxes, while in Greece for every euro of direct taxes taxes account for 1.8 euros of indirect taxes.

Details of the business or professional who is accused of tax evasion or smuggling will be identified immediately.

In conclusion, with very few exceptions, the rates of all indirect taxes, be it VAT or excise taxes, have risen significantly over the decade of the memorandum. This also explains the sharp increase in the share of income from indirect taxation in GDP over the same period. As mentioned in the study, in the case of indirect taxes, extensive and consistent increases in the respective rates, both VAT and excises, have increased the tax burden from 11.4% of household consumption spending in 2008 to 15.7% in 2019. At the same time, freelancers also declare significantly less income than they receive, which in many cases can be seen in their lifestyle.

How will it work

In addition to new technologies and the interconnection of businesses with AADE, the tax administration is implementing a complaints platform and, according to the head of the tax administration, complaints can be both named and anonymous, and will be assessed by the same system, which will be able, thanks to the functional compatibility, identify details of the business or professional being reported for tax evasion or smuggling.

Citizens will fill out a special form and if the information is complete, the system will pass it to the review mechanism to determine the seriousness and basis of the complaint, after which a green light will be given to start the appropriate review. At the same time, citizens will have the opportunity to write in detail the complaint that came to their attention, regardless of whether they themselves became the victim of a business or a professional.

Bonus for revealing “monkey” receipts

A provision is expected to be introduced in Parliament in the coming days, revealing the bonuses that citizens who opt out of the “monkey” income through the Appodixi app will receive. According to the information, the plan provides that in cases where the complaint establishes that the company interfered with the tax mechanism and issues fake receipts, the complainant will receive an amount that is many times higher than the value of the receipt. The lower limit is reported to be around 200-300 euros (based on the initial draft) and the upper limit will exceed 2,000 euros.

Upon confirmation of the tax and fine, the deposit will be paid to the bank account of the citizen who contributed to the disclosure of the fact of tax evasion. Even if the company goes to the Tax Dispute Resolution Directorate and then to the administrative court, a process that can take several years, the applicant will receive the amount with confirmed tax and penalties, regardless of whether he is subsequently acquitted for any reason by the company. . From September 20, when the new measure was activated, until today, about 200,000 citizens have downloaded the Appodixi application on their mobile phones, with which they scan receipts and check their validity.