Arrears to Greek state surge in January 2017

Taxpayers' arrears towards the Greek state again surged in January 2017, as ripples from last year's "tax tsunami" are now causing "waves" in current revenue targets.

Moreover, based on stricter provisions enacted to collect outstanding debts owed to the state, a new round of confiscations, foreclosures and other forced collection measures are expected to intensify.

Recently released figures by the newly established - and memorandum-mandated - Independent Authority for Public Revenues show that new arrears to the state increased by 1.63 billion euros in January 2017.

Arrears throughout 2016 increased by 13.9 billion euros, with total at the end of the year reaching a stratospheric 95.290 billion euros, only to climb to 96.920 billion euros by the end of January 2017.

Nevertheless, a large portion of the total figure is comprised of arrears and debts dating back decades, and owed by companies and businesses that have ceased operation as far back as the 1980s, and by many individual taxpayers that are no longer living, or elderly and without income or who simply do not show up on tax collectors' "radar".  

The course of arrears owed to the state also more-or-less confirm IMF forecasts, by which the tax collection rate in Greece has dropped to 50 percent from 75 percent in 2010.

The decreased rate is directly linked to the fact that a higher number of Greek taxpayers lack alternates for paying off increasingly higher direct and indirect taxes enacted as part of efforts to meet fiscal targets enshrined in the third bailout memorandum.

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