Debts to the state soared in July
Expired debts to the state jumped by over 800 million euros in July to bring the total amount of money Greeks owe to tax authorities and social security funds to over 90 billion euros, i.e. over half of the country’s gross domestic product.
Data from the General Secretariat for Public Revenues showed on Monday that expired debts in July came to 811 million euros, more than twice what they were a year earlier, when they had stood at 388 million.
In the first seven months of the year new debts to the state were 21 percent higher than in January-July 2015, to reach up to 7.6 billion euros. This is seen as evidence of the fact that the tax-paying capacity of Greeks and of local enterprises is growing continually smaller.
In an effort to contain the expansion of expired debts, the secretariat proceeded in July to some 20,000 confiscations from debtors’ bank accounts. In total there are 4,128,962 state debtors, with compulsory collection measures imposed on 774,282 of them.
A further increase in debts is to be expected moreover, as by the end of the year Greeks will have to pay two income tax installments, four monthly tranches of the Single Property Tax (ENFIA), road tax, etc.
