4 ms·

Greece could be the most productive country in the EU and their government would still be in dire straits. Tax evasion is endemic. It doesn't matter how much

by beloch 14y ago

Greece could be the most productive country in the EU and their government would still be in dire straits. Tax evasion is endemic. It doesn't matter how much people are making if almost nobody is paying their taxes. The Greek government has started cracking down, but Greek disrespect for taxation has been building for generations and won't die easily.

zerostar07 14y ago
It was (and mostly still is) so easy to avoid taxes in Greece that it's fair to say the burden is on the government more than the people. I believe it's difficult to make people tax-conscious when they see that it's so easy for everyone around them to steal. The tax authorities here are corrupt, underqualified, and have a very low rate of tax collection. It's so bad that it had better be replaced altogether.
- varjag 14y ago
  Greece is a democracy. The government is representative of its people.
  - zanny 14y ago
    Is the US a democracy by the same standards? Saying you have a democracy does not make it so, the actions of a government acting out the will of its people makes it so.
    - varjag 14y ago
      The perfect democracy achieving the will of all voters is not achievable, as different groups may promote conflicting policies. There are however parts that are consistent with all populace, and as the cabinets change you definitely can see what they do have in common. Greek politicians are Greek people too, with same cultural background and overall attitudes prevailing in the society. Ditto for Greek government employees (a huge sector of their economy), who are there to enforce the regulations. If there is a culture of tax evasion, you can't expect the government to fix it just because there is a tax code in the writing. People's attitude have to change.
  - zerostar07 14y ago
    That's a fair point. But it's true that the government took advantage of the tools offered to the country for free and unchecked by the EU (namely, subsidies and cheap credit lines) to lull people into a false sense of euphoria (To think that in 2000-2007 governments were proud for having the highest-growing economy in the EU (with borrowed money, of course)). There is an issue with EU's general lack of adequate checks on how EU money is spent in individual countries (esp. the south).
  - mseebach 14y ago
    I think a more appropriate way of putting it is that voters get the government they deserve. I suspect "making tax evasion harder" hasn't been a viable platform to run on in Greece for a while.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
tluyben2 14y ago
Same in Spain. People look at you in disgust if you ask something about taxes; 'why would you do that?'. And if you desperately WANT to pay tax, they made it INCREDIBLY difficult. I thought the Netherlands was bureaucratic, but that's really child's play compared what you have to do in Spain (for practically anything official).

by beloch 14y ago

zerostar07 14y ago

It was (and mostly still is) so easy to avoid taxes in Greece that it's fair to say the burden is on the government more than the people. I believe it's difficult to make people tax-conscious when they see that it's so easy for everyone around them to steal. The tax authorities here are corrupt, underqualified, and have a very low rate of tax collection. It's so bad that it had better be replaced altogether.

varjag 14y ago
Greece is a democracy. The government is representative of its people.
- zanny 14y ago
  Is the US a democracy by the same standards? Saying you have a democracy does not make it so, the actions of a government acting out the will of its people makes it so.
  - varjag 14y ago
    The perfect democracy achieving the will of all voters is not achievable, as different groups may promote conflicting policies. There are however parts that are consistent with all populace, and as the cabinets change you definitely can see what they do have in common. Greek politicians are Greek people too, with same cultural background and overall attitudes prevailing in the society. Ditto for Greek government employees (a huge sector of their economy), who are there to enforce the regulations. If there is a culture of tax evasion, you can't expect the government to fix it just because there is a tax code in the writing. People's attitude have to change.
- zerostar07 14y ago
  That's a fair point. But it's true that the government took advantage of the tools offered to the country for free and unchecked by the EU (namely, subsidies and cheap credit lines) to lull people into a false sense of euphoria (To think that in 2000-2007 governments were proud for having the highest-growing economy in the EU (with borrowed money, of course)). There is an issue with EU's general lack of adequate checks on how EU money is spent in individual countries (esp. the south).
- mseebach 14y ago
  I think a more appropriate way of putting it is that voters get the government they deserve. I suspect "making tax evasion harder" hasn't been a viable platform to run on in Greece for a while.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]

tluyben2 14y ago

Same in Spain. People look at you in disgust if you ask something about taxes; 'why would you do that?'. And if you desperately WANT to pay tax, they made it INCREDIBLY difficult. I thought the Netherlands was bureaucratic, but that's really child's play compared what you have to do in Spain (for practically anything official).