Taxpayers’ arrears to the state rocketed by 5.47 billion euros in the first half of 2017, as Greeks are unable to meet their tax obligations.
At the same time, the authorities freeze or seize about 900 bank accounts on a daily basis, to recover the debts.
According to figures released by the Independent Public Revenue Authority, a total of 3.8 million taxpayers and businesses owe the Greek State more than €95 billion.
Taking into account the July data, where one in three taxpayers did not pay the first installment of income tax, the revenue trend is bound to become worse, says Greek daily Kathimerini.
It means that hundreds of thousands of taxpayers will be added to the long list of state debtors.
Officials at the Greek ministry of Finance estimate that overdue debts will swell in the coming months, as the summer obligations, i.e. income tax and property tax (ENFIA), are added.
According to the same officials, overdue payments are projected to rise from €5.47 billion to €12-13 billion by the end of 2017.
However, they note that the rate of recovery of overdue debts is expected to rise, and in particular they expect to collect more than €4-5 billion, from seizures and auctions.
On a daily basis, tax authorities carry out approximately 900 seizures of wages, pensions, and bank accounts in general.
Since the start of the year, 112,058 seizures have taken place, of which 19,954 in June.
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