Slow progress in tax inspections

Chronic obstacles, including the understaffing of inspecting agencies and the absence of sufficient legal tools, mean that ongoing investigations into suspected tax cheats, a key pledge of the leftist-led government, are unlikely to produce any significant results in the foreseeable future.

Eight lists, containing data on 1,380,000 tax registration numbers, are currently being studied by authorities under the guidance of Deputy Justice Minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos.

Officials are checking information on 306 Greeks who bought expensive property in the UK over the past few years, but they have only made progress in 32 cases.

Another list in the hands of the authorities contains data on 54,246 people who sent a total 22.209 billion euros abroad between 2009 and 2012. Only 600 cases have been fully investigated so far.

Investigation into Greeks with bank accounts in Luxembourg and 65 CDs with depositors who appear to have at least 300,000 euros in their accounts, are also proceeding at a snail’s pace.