Authorities Urge Greeks to Aid In the Capture of Tax Evaders

Authorities in Greece have doubled their efforts to catch tax evaders over the last year. The Greek Finance Ministry’s General Secretariat for Public Revenue has issued an official statement asking citizens to help combat tax evasion by exercising their right not to pay for goods and services if they are not presented with the legal receipt.

The General Secretariat stressed that the bill of order and receipt of card transaction are not considered as legal receipts and consumers should ask business owners for the receipt featuring the business’s tax number.

Meanwhile, the Greek newspaper TA NEA reported that the government is preparing a new law that will protect public interest witnesses, i.e. citizens who provide information against tax offenders. The government is also planning on introducing some incentives for citizens who provide information that leads authorities to tax evaders.

According to publication, at the moment protection is only provided to cases of corruption in the public sector. The new bill that is being drafted at the moment will also provide protection to public interest witnesses who are involved in tax offense cases or expired medicine cases.