The Troika has managed to get all Greeks in a stranglehold to collect as much as possible from the ever-increasing household and business debts to the state.
The method is simple: anyone who does not pay or settle his debts will be facing repossession or prosecution. If one owes, he no longer stays unaffected. Within the next months, persecutions will be intensified so that taxpayers are forced to settle their payments, based on the newly issued decisions.
The pressure is reflected on police and prisons as well, which seem to be receiving more and more prisoners.
Lately, police reports have regularly been including arrests of people who owe money to the government, especially large sums, but there is also an increase in debts between 100,000 and 200,000 euros – even 50,000 in some cases. On average, almost 40 people are arrested per day for owing the State money.
The General Secretariat for Public Revenue estimates that during last year about 10,670 complaint reports and prosecutions were issued across the country, while this year’s number reached 3,300 reports. For the time being, the Economic Police has to deal with 2,489 pending orders against specific debtors (2,022 in the Attika region), to which more and more debtors are added daily. According to the Security officers’ estimates, if these rates are to continue, the number of warrants is expected to reach or surpass the amount of 30,000 or even 40,000.
These are some pretty huge numbers, if one considers that within 2012, according to official data from the Ministry of Public Order, 1,758 people were arrested for debts to the State as well as other tax offenses of more than 2.117 billion euros. Those arrested, after reaching a settlement with the Tax Office and having made the first payment, are released. Otherwise, they are detained.
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