The Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) published a report with figures that show the levels of taxation in Greece and the services people receive in return for their taxes.
The figures present the extremely high levels of taxation that the Greeks have to pay in every aspect of their life, with the total revenues of the state coming from taxes and social security contributions reaching the amount of €7 billion ($7.8 billion), or 4 percent of Greece’s gross domestic product (GDP).
This is the highest percentage in the whole of the European Union.
In return, the Greek State spends 5 percent less than the EU average for public expenses, excluding salaries for the country’s public sector.
This means that Greece spends much less than the European average for education, public healthcare, justice, infrastructure maintenance, and defense.
On the other hand, the Greek State spends more than the European average on interest for the country’s loans, with 1.5 percent of GDP allotted to loans; pensions and social benefits reach 3.5 percent of the GDP while salaries for the public sector at 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
SEV concludes with the need for tax reform that would rationalize today’s system and measures that would expand online transactions in order to reduce the amounts of Greece’s illegal economy that reaches the sum of €35 billion ($40.6 billion) according to estimations from the country’s Ministry of Finance.
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