With the deadlines for tax returns pushed back several times because of a breakdown in the electronic system which all taxpayers are required to use this year, Greece’s tax offices are still waiting on 600,000 returns to be submitted before the last day they are due – so far – which is Aug. 30.
The tax department said, however, that it would accept returns up to 8 a.m. on Sept. 2 before imposing late fees and fines, although the penalties could be even more severe as taxpayers will not be allowed to submit receipts and other deductions, which could raise their tax bill substantially. None of this is applicable to people who evade taxes.
After the final deadline, taxpayers will not have receipts from the past tax year recognized, missing out on a 5,000-euro tax-free threshold. That means that income will be taxed from the first euro and an extra 2.5% tax of the total income to make up for the receipts.
Late submission will result in no discounts will be recognized on expenses such as rent for a primary residence, tuition fees, interest on loans for a primary residence, life insurance, medical and healthcare expenses and donations.
taxpayers will also incur a 1% fine for every month they delay the submission of the tax returns. The general practice is for the minimum charge of 117 euros to be imposed, which after a settlement with tax services can be reduced to 39 euros.
The General Secretary of Public Revenue Haris Theoharis said there will be crosschecks with other services in an effort to reduce tax fraud and evasion. The tax services will be paying extra care to the details of taxpayers who appear to qualify for tax refunds, thousands of whom have since amended their returns.
Meanwhile, the government still hasn’t acted on checking a list of 2,062 Greeks with $1.95 billion in secret Swiss bank accounts although it’s been in the possession of the finance ministry for three years.
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