Once again, Greece says it is going after tax cheats, this time doctors and lawyers who are notorious for dodging what they owe the government, and as a scrutiny by agents of the Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE) shows the professionals are continuing to evade payment into the millions of euros.
The newspaper Kathimerini reported that SDOE found that three of the worst alleged offenders – two lawyers and a doctor – failed to declare some 12.5 million euros ($16.5 million) to tax authorities.
A well-known Athens labor lawyer, involved in several high-profile trials, concealed 7 million euros ($9.25 million) in income, another Piraeus-based lawyer failed to declare 3.47 million euros, (4.58 million) and a surgeon from Thessaloniki hid 2.1 million euros ($2.77 million) in income, SDOE’s investigation revealed.
The findings of the SDOE agents confirmed the suspicions of International Monetary Fund officials who have long pressed the Greek authorities to pay particular attention to the legal and medical sectors – and to members of other professions whose assets do not tally with their declared income – in their tax evasion crackdowns, the paper added.
Checks by SDOE agents in Attica revealed that 22 businesses issued nearly 2,500 bogus invoices to cover nonexistent transactions worth some 55 million euros ($72.69 million.) Most of the businesses were manufacturers of agricultural pesticides and household detergents, according to sources.
One company on the list compiled by SDOE, whose chief representative is currently in jail, is alleged to have issued 9 million euros ($11.89 million) in bogus invoices to various businesses. A number of crackdowns and hundreds of arrests over the past year in well-publicized apprehensions has, however, failed to yield a single major prosecution as it can take up to 10 years to hear tax cases in Greece.
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