Greece's tax authority has been using the help of digital technologies since the start of the year to identify potential cases of tax evasion and readies itself to dole out fines and surcharges

Since the start of 2024, Greece’s tax authority, AADE, has identified 1,100 persons suspected of tax evasion in Greece who have declared incomes that do not match-up with their spending, bank deposits, or investments accounts, says an article at AMNA

State-of-Play

AADE has sent the individuals a warning notice that they will be audited and that they must be prepared to explain the large discrepancies between their income and expenses.

If the individuals fail to satisfy the authorities, they will be hit with taxes, fines and surcharges.

With the help of digital means, AADE can finally get data and information from finanical institutions about the deposits, investments accounts, loans and grants, credit and prepaid cards, safe deposit boxes, e-wallets  and more to see if their living expenses are justified.

AMNA notes that digital wallets and services like PayPal are particularly in the “sights” of AADE.

If not, a tax of 33% on the difference is imposed, along with fines, surchases and a special solidarity contribution, which will result in a stinging total tax burden that surpasses 50%.

It should be noted that any amount in a bank account with an unknown source will automatically be classified as an increase in wealth.

Complaints of Tax Evasion

Earlier this year, AADE received 158,939 complaints from citizens about suspected tax evasion and customs violations.

Citizens have reported fake receipts, smuggling and corruption, leading the Hellenic Revenue Service to conduct targeted tax audits to identify violators.

Just 10 days ago Greece’s tax bureau made a remarkable catch of no less than 287 Chinese-owned retail businesses – mostly apparel and footwear – involved in systemic tax evasion, part of an investigation code-named operation ‘Paper Dragon’.