While Greece is frantically looking for cash everywhere during a crushing economic crisis, the Finance Ministry said it’s going to get rid of up to 200 levies designed to raise funds for social security funds and other organizations after being asked by its international lenders.
The manner of collecting the monies is said to be so cumbersome and complicated that it’s counter-productive and not worth it, officials said.
Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras will evaluate the feedback in order to scrap any levies – also known as quasi-fiscal charges – which are deemed unfair. Revenue from other levies is to be included in the state budget so that the government can decide on further redistribution, according to Kathimerini.
Greek taxpayers have to pay an estimated 500 million euros because of these less-than-transparent charges, according to reports. The vast majority of existing charges – 93 of them – were introduced with the aim of collecting cash for various social security funds, while the money brought in from 25 goes to various legal unions.
“The structure and manner in which these levies have been imposed is extremely complicated, and this effectively raises the cost of managing the tax system at large,” an official at the Finance Ministry told Kathimerini on condition of anonymity.
“Most of the quasi-fiscal charges were introduced in order to secure institutionalized financial support for various funds, organizations and institutions in an indirect manner and, often, without Parliament’s control,” the official said.
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