Professionals shun electronic payments
Greece’s independent revenue authority, AADE, has found that many professionals are still not accepting electronic payments even though they are obliged to keep point of sale (POS) devices to accept cards.
The reason is not difficult to guess: Cash transactions facilitate tax avoidance. And AADE is preparing to launch targeted inspections of certain categories of professionals that appear more inclined than others to shy away from digital and, therefore, easily traceable transactions.
One such category is lawyers: Although there are more than 22,000 of them, fewer than 3,500 have accepted payments through POS terminals. Plumbers are another: About 1,300 across the country have used POS devices to take payments, when double that number are registered in the relevant Athens professional association.
Other professional activities where little evidence of electronic payments has surfaced include taxis, nurseries and real estate agents. In 130 professional activities, the number of professionals using POS terminals was 10 or fewer.
AADE will check the declared incomes of those “POS denialists” to see how they compare with those of their colleagues using electronic payment methods and will audit accordingly, officials say.
Overall, electronic transactions are increasing rapidly: They are set to top €60 billion this year compared to €40 billion in 2021. A large part of that is due to the rebound in tourism, as visitors use credit cards more often. But even with them included, use of electronic payments lags the EU average.
The heaviest use of credit cards is to be found at supermarkets: In 2021, nearly €8 billion worth of shopping was done electronically, about two-thirds of the sector’s €12 billion total revenue.
