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Corruption Costing Greece $13.5 Billion Annually

ATHENS – As Greece tries to tax its way out of near-bankruptcy – along with pay and pension cuts and layoffs – a major part of a solution, catching the country’s notorious tax evaders, could bring in more than $13.5 billion a year, the head of Transparency International’s Athens office, Costas Bakouris, said. In an interview with SKAI TV, he said that authorities in Greece must focus on boosting transparency on all levels, re-iterating similar warnings that have been ignored. While there has been a spate of recent arrests of people charged with failing or refusing to pay their taxes, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has missed several self-imposed deadlines to release the names of major evaders, including a promise to do so on Nov. 24.
Bakouris was speaking after his agency released a report that found Greece and Mafia-riddled Italy are among the most corrupt countries in the European Union and 17 countries of the Eurozone that use the euro as a currency. TI said corruption was a major reason why both countries are essentially broke and why Greece had to ask the Troika of the EU-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank for a $152 billion bailout that came with attached austerity measures that have crippled the economy and caused a deep recession of 18.4 percent unemployment, 17 percent homelessness and the closing of more than 100,000 businesses with projections many more will fail as many Greeks have stopped spending. There are also more than 500,000 Greeks with no income, their unemployment benefits having ended. Robin Hodess, TI’s Research Director, said the Eurozone crisis “reflects poor financial management, lack of transparency and mismanagement of public funds”.
Italy was ranked in 69th place with Greece in 80th place worldwide for 2011, compared to 67th place in 2010 for Greece and 78th place in 2010 for Italy. Many Greeks believe the problem is even worse as they have to bribe doctors, lawyers, tax inspectors, driver’s license officials and civil servants to get expedited services, while many professions do not give receipts, making it difficult for authorities to track their income.
“Euro-zone countries suffering debt crises, partly because of public authorities’ failure to tackle the bribery and tax evasion that are key drivers of debt crisis, are among the lowest-scoring EU countries,” the group said in the report. The economic crisis in Greece has triggered more than 18 months of protests, riots and strikes and led to creation of a coalition government that is pushing more austerity measures in hopes of getting a second bailout of $175 billion and a write-off of 50 percent of much of the country’s debt.
In a desperate bid to raise revenues while tax evaders are largely escaping with impunity, Venizelos has put harsh taxes on many vulnerable sectors of society, including the poor while Transparency International said corruption remains rampant. Critics have said it reaches the highest levels of society and government and business.  The countries with the least corruption are New Zealand, Denmark and Finland, while the dictatorship of North Korea and the government-less African country of Somalia are last, a notch below war-torn Afghanistan and the military dictatorship of Myanmar.
(Sources: Kathimerini)
 

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