Long-running lousy joke

The following farce has been going on for a number of years: Officials from different governments warn taxpayers that they will not offer any special schemes for them to settle their tax arrears.

They also tell them that there will be no deadline extensions for taxpayers to submit their annual income tax declarations.

A few days later, however, the same officials announce that the complete opposite will apply.

In the end, those taxpayers who struggle to pay ahead of the original deadline end up feeling hoodwinked, if not stupid.

This farce must come to an end. Original deadlines and announcements must stand, otherwise there will never be any sense of order, while Greek taxpayers will never become tax conscious.