Posted on 07/11/2010 8:53:40 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
It's the equivalent of shutting down the best Hamptons hangouts of the rich and famous and then following them to their beachfront homes to seize the places for unpaid real estate taxes.
That's what Greece's tax agents are doing this weekend in a desperate crackdown on its most notorious tax cheats living in posh holiday enclaves dotting Greece's Mediterranean coast.
Greece earlier provoked widespread revolt and weeks of riots, fire bombings and wildcat strikes to protest belt-tightening and pay cuts of civil servants made to tame Greece's bloated budget and forestall default.
Now, authorities are going after the rich. Taxmen first padlocked 10 of the top nightclubs and entertainment centers, starting in Athens and spreading to hip city Thessaloniki, for not collecting taxes from their rich party crowds.
Agents then went knocking on the doors of 990 well-to-do individuals identified by the Ministry of Finance as tax cheats who owe more than $8.5 million in back real estate taxes on their vacation homes and seaside hideaways, on which they failed to report their values totaling $721 million, the ministry said.
"Unless they pay their debts to the Greek state by July 20, the assets will be seized," the ministry said in a statement to The Post.
In recent weeks, such storm-trooper methods have shaken out $2.33 billion from businesses that failed to report sales taxes -- double the amount collected for the entire prior year, the ministry said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Comming to North America real soon...
When big brother runs out of tricks, he starts looking for scapegoats.
They are making Jesse Jackson proud!
Imagine tax agents knocking at your door demanding you pay up ( this is what is ACTUALLY HAPPENING NOW in Greece ).
Take note — here in the USA when the IRS accuses you of hiding income, the onus is on YOU to show you’re not guilty.
And after you spend money defending yourself, even if you are found to be innocent, YOU PAY FOR ALL THE EXPENSES.
This is what the 16th Amendment has wrought.
I guess I don’t have a problem with the government enforcing the law by rounding up people who have broken the law by not paying their taxes.
Wonder how that happened?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2451245/posts
Spain curbs ‘millionaire’ pay for air traffic controllers (incredible salaries)
Breitbart.com
According to figures released by the transport ministry last week, 135 controllers earned more than 600,000 euros (830,000 US dollars) per year while 713 earned between 360,000 and 540,000 euros.
By comparison Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero earns just under 92,000 euros a year while the average salary in Spain is just over 18,000 euros per year, according to government figures.
In addition, the controllers can retire at the age of 52.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Incredible. The Fall of the West. If they make nearly a MILLION DOLLARS a year while they are working, then retire at 52, don’t they get $30,000,000 in retirement pay, if they live long enough??? Total of $50,000,000 each??? What country could ever support this? Oh yeah: Spain, US, UAW, Obama, SEIU, they all want to try!!!
I wonder what would happen if the Greek government decided to pay out benefits just as before, but multiplied by a tax compliance factor. So if they collected half the taxes they were “supposed” to, everybody’s benefit check were cut in half.
I suppose that wouldn’t change anything if there were little overlap between the tax payers and the benefit recipients.
Greece is riddled with corruption.
How many of these tax cheats are innocent?
We will NEVER know.
The growing corruption of this country is not too far behind that of Mexico.
Why would you assume otherwise? Why else do the PTB want the US to be just like Mexico??
Shakedowns-R-Us!
In other words, everyone should stop paying taxes.
Not a bad idea: The government is lawless and no taxes should be paid until our Constitutional government is restored to its proper limits.
Good point ;-)
When lying is accepted, for what ever reason;
When a tax cheat heads the Treasury Department;
When banks get to cash in their wins, and put those loses onto the taxpayer;
Don’t be surprised at the moral hazards that will become accepted behavior.
We are on a slippery slope, sliding fast, and not realizing that you are misdirecting your anger is just dandy with the thieves on top off their $ta$h.
“There was a story posted here on FR a couple weeks back that stated some ridiculous percentage of Greek government officials that own several homes/properties worth millions of dollars/euros on small salaries.”
I saw that, names like....Rangelkous, Dowdlous, Gorekas and so forth. Is that the story you’re referencing? All owning multiple homes way out of proportion to the salaries they’ve earned during their gummint service.
Right, except the story was about the Greek pols.
Chazz Rangel - how is he not inprisoned?
If the Greeks had been doing this all along, they would not have many of the problems that they have now. It’s well-known to European vacationers to being cash to Greece because you will get a better deal on anything. Greece effectively has two major economies.
I’m one of those “European vacationers” and was last in Greece in October. No, you do not “get a better deal on anything” by using cash (to any extent beyond any advantage here in the states).
“Their” taxes? You mean the money that the government decides to take from them. “Taxes” have evolved into government based corruption.
How do you think that fancy red truck that shows up when your house is on fire is paid for? Are you new to the concept of democracy?
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