Greek Tax System a Disaster, but Brussels Gives the Green Light

Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish)

Article about a significant report by Vassilis Rapanos and Georgia Kaplanoglou

The two professors say the Greek tax system is a failure, and not suited to a modern economy:

"As late as 2009, 60 percent of all Greeks paid no income tax, says Rapanos. He explains that it is partly because Greece has an unusually high proportion of self-employed people. With a little creative accounting, one third of the members of the labour force can easily lower their income on paper."

The EU Commissioner of Taxation, Algkirntas Shemesh, in an interview with  Kathimerini, notes that if Greece reduced tax evasion to the European average, it would increase revenues by $ 10 billion annually (Ο επίτροπος Φορολογίας της Ε.Ε., Αλγκίρντας Σεμέτα, σε συνέντευξή του στην «Κ», σημειώνει πως εάν η Ελλάδα περιόριζε τη φοροδιαφυγή στον ευρωπαϊκό μέσο όρο θα αύξανε τα έσοδα κατά 10 δισ. ευρώ ετησίως).

In English, Kathimerini.

More on tax issues

Still, Christmas is coming, and Brussels seems happy and optimistic:

Eurointelligence reports:

'The mood was upbeat in Brussels: "We are convinced that the program is back on a sound track," said Jean-Claude Juncker, Antonis Samaras said “Solidarity in our union is alive. Grexit is dead.”'

The green light from Brussels (Kathimerini).