Statement submission deadline extended while taxpayers’ debts keep growing

While data show an increase in both the debts owed by taxpayers to the state and those of the state to third parties, the Finance Ministry has announced an extension to the deadline for the submission of tax statements for 2015 incomes.

The decision signed on Thursday by Alternate Finance Minister Tryfon Alexiadis provides for tax declarations to be submitted by June 30, altering the original deadline of April 30. The ministry insisted it will not grant a further extension after that date.

Yet month after month debts owed to and by the state continue to grow instead of fall: Finance Ministry statistics showed on Friday that by the end of February, the state’s expired debts to third parties had increased by 600 million euros within a month, from 5.4 billion euros at end-January. The social security organizations owe the lion’s share, with unpaid dues of 2.9 billion euros. Pending tax rebates declined to 658 million from 798 million euros in January.

At the same time, taxpayers’ debts to the state that expired within this year grew by 1.3 billion euros in February to reach 2.7 billion, of which 2.5 billion euros concerns unpaid taxes.

This has taken the overall sum of money owed to the state to 84.1 billion euros.

The problem with taxpayers’ debts is even greater considering the state mechanism’s performance when it comes to debt collection: Of that sum of 84.1 billion euros, the state managed to collect just 539 million in the first couple of months of the year.

Out of the 2.7 billion euros of this year’s debts, it collected just 9.5 percent, or 262 million euros.