Greeks will face big fines unless paying more through e-transactions

The year 2020 will bring a requirement in Greece that at least 30 percent of purchases be made using debit or credit cards to prevent big fines as the New Democracy government becomes the latest trying to crack down on using cash to evade paying taxes.

The rule kicks in on Jan. 1 under which salaried workers,  pensioners, property landlords, freelance professionals, and farmers must implement electronic transactions that can be tracked to check spending.

The wealthy, many of whom hide their income in secret foreign bank accounts, have evaded taxes with near impunity while directives are aimed mostly at people who can’t do that, government workers and others paid through checks that can be compared to tax returns.

Fines for not using cards for the 30 percent threshold will be 22 percent of the difference between spending and the undeclared gap although the jobless and people over 70 will be exempt from the requirement.

The amount of the income used for the calculation of the online payment requirement will have their solidarity tax levy deducted, while any alimony payments to former spouses will also be excluded.

Successive governments have made a big show of saying they would get at tax evaders but all have failed, as the former ruling Radical Left SYRIZA didn’t enforce requirements that Point-of-Service (POS) machines had to be used for purchases and services, with many professionals such as doctors and lawyers demanding cash and claiming the machines didn’t work or their Internet was down and unusable.

Read more at thenationalherald.com

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