Greece has pillaged pensions and driven down wages but done nearly nothing to reverse endemic tax evasion at the heart of its crisis.
I have often mused that troika officials are so quiet on this issue that they’re almost complicit.
It seems as though some staffers in Athens, at the EU and the IMF have been writing reports on the issue. Instead of touting the reports, the leaders decided to leak them on Christmas Eve when they will be ignored and forgotten.
More focus is needed on collection from the 1,500 biggest debtors, which make up two-thirds of the total amount owed to the state, according to an e-mailed copy of the November report from the Athens-based finance ministry today.
A separate EU/IMF report says Greece should give up collecting about 80% of 53-billion euros in taxes owed, was also released today. It says it would be too hard to track the money down.
