During the final days of 2013, many taxpayers in Greece have gathered and stood for endless hours at their local tax offices and banks across the country, in order to hand back their motorcycle or car registration plates and to settle their outstanding debts.
A Greek man from Amaliada, western Greece chose a rather original and impressive way to give back his plates. He arrived at his local tax office on horseback. He stated that he can no longer afford to run a car and that he prefers to use his horse since the only expense is a little hay. “No more road tax and insurance,” he rejoiced.
Road tax in Greece is the highest in Europe and many citizens prefer to de-register their vehicles as their income has shrunk due to the austerity measures. Greek media have shown long lines of people at tax offices returning their plates in order to avoid having to pay road tax for 2014.
Car dealerships in Greece are struggling to survive. January-November sales declined by 40% compared to the same period in 2012, with only 55,000 new registrations for the first nine months of 2013.
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