> A lot of people in Greece simply didn't pay taxes because they could easily get away with it. It might be okay if a few people do it, but if everyone does it

> A lot of people in Greece simply didn't pay taxes because they could easily get away with it. It might be okay if a few people do it, but if everyone does it, it destabilises the country and the damage will go beyond politicians losing their seats. No. It's deeply rooted in Greek culture to the point that VAT is basically an optional tax for most entrepreneurs. Virtually nobody at all pays VAT on cash sales in Greece, and there's virtually no enforcement on it, so the only risk of getting caught is if you've pissed off someone with connections. So everyone does it, and Greece is reasonably stable.