The World: In Greece, the fight against tax evasion gives its first fruits – the financial news of the day

"In Greece, the fight against tax evasion gives its first fruits", writes the French newspaper Le Monde. In some tourist destinations, VAT has increased revenue by 200%, while traders are questioning harsh penalties for violations. "I have already checked twice, I am now very careful," says the owner of a restaurant in Mykonos, "notes the French newspaper.

Starting in 2016 and the creation of the General Secretariat Recipes public, the organization's auditors are trying to inspect the islands. "Not without result: VAT revenues in some tourist destinations, like Mykonos, have increased by 200%!", reports The World. [19659002] More generally, in the first five months of 2018, tax revenues increased 393 million euros.As of 2011, a series of measures have been taken against tax evasion for the state. Greek with a deficit of 11 to 16 billion euros annual revenue.

The French newspaper underlines that, behind this reform, we find the seal of France which, from 2011, within the framework of the of the first aid program of Greece, took the difficult task. "There was a certain distance in terms of tax coverage. We are also in the training of executives because many auditors have been sent to France for training and a public finance school will be created in Greece in 2019. There is still a lot to do, "says a French expert who prefers the idea. anonymity

Anna Damascus, of Transparency International in Greece, points out that capital controls of 2015 helped to reduce tax evasion, "the only positive aspect of the measure being the application of bank cards and electronic transactions ". Similarly, similar procedures were theoretically imposed on merchants and freelancers through terminal cash registers. According to the organization's ranking and the corruption index, Greece has risen from 69 in the ranking in 2016 to 59 this year.

"This is an attempt by state actors and Greek society to pull Greece out of this state of darkness," said the president of Transparency International. However, the fact remains that Greece is in a very low position with regard to corruption in other European countries. Among other things, the reform of public administration remains to be demanded, says the article. Tax evasion and corruption are linked to Greece, says P. Kartaksoulis, a former Potamio member. For Mr. Papaspyrou, Inspector General of Public Administration, the other hurdle to overcome is the delay in the administration of justice