Greece

Revenue stalled in Greece

Disillusionment for the linksgeführte government of Alexis Tsipras: in 2015, the tax authorities approximately EUR 600 million less earned than in the previous year, despite drastic tax increases.

According to recent data of the Greek Ministry of Finance, tax revenues in the crisis year of 2015 a total of EUR 43.6 billion. This means a loss of 611 million, compared to 2014, although in the past year, nine new direct or indirect taxes have been introduced. Even more comes to the financial crisis to appear, if you have previous Budgetary projections approaching: In November 2014, i.e. before the ex-in Athens and the planned renegotiation of the austerity programme with the donors, he hoped the Greek Ministry of Finance nor revenue for a total of 47 billion euros in 2015 – and now gets 3.4 billion less than it was calculated. The Finanzloch and possibly has political repercussions, as the international lender of additional austerity measures, demand and thus the government of Tsipras, who for months with a highly controversial pension reform, it argues, continue to get in trouble.

Tsipras: we continue to be in distress

According to the official reading is the revenue Minus only on financial reasons and nothing to worry about: The due date for the first two Installments of a constitutionally controversial real estate-special tax is several times moved backwards. Due to this, so the Argumentation in Athens, would the corresponding revenue in billions of dollars not more revenue in the budget 2015 are also taken into account, but on 2016 move. The one cannot contradict. But it’s remarkable that the Greek economy in the year 2015 again shrank, while you are still in November 2014 on a strong Wachstumsplus of three percent in prospect, the much higher tax revenues would have resulted. “For the relapse into recession, there are mainly two reasons for this: The continuing uncertainty in the economy, as well as the introduction of capital controls in the summer of 2015”, said Panagiotis Petrakis, Economics Professor at the University of Athens, in an interview with DW.

Economic data on roller coaster

According to Petrakis could the recession this year to be deepened and, possibly, for negative Surprises in Greece worries. The uncertainty in the economy drive, now time strange flowers. A worrying indicator was in particular the development of the labour market, warns the Economist: “for the First time since 2014 we have currently more layoffs than new hires. We had just in the year 2015 on a surprisingly clear Beschäftigungsplus with about 97,000 additional Jobs happy” says Petrakis.

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In particular, the development of the public revenues made in the past few months for a roller coaster ride of hope and despair in Hellas. While in the first months after the ex-in Athens an alarming decline of over nine percent compared to the previous year was recorded, the revenue in the second half of 2015 surpassed all expectations.

For this seemingly contradictory situation has Professor Petrakis the following explanation: “After the introduction of capital controls in the summer of 2015, many people were suddenly afraid to put their money and therefore decided to her sooner or later due obligations towards the tax authorities with high priority to meet – especially since the new government was just draconian penal laws against debtors to say goodbye. That is why the tax revenues in the second half of 2015 has grown significantly”. However, if the number of is credits at this time also increased significantly. Apparently, many tried people, their scarce resources to shift to their obligations to the Treasury to comply with. So that was the state, ultimately at the expense of the banks have been met, explains the Economist.

Further action is probably inevitable

Pensioners protest in Athens against cuts

Strikingly in the most recent evaluation in Athens is also that the tax receipts by employees, contractors and retirees in the past year to 11 percent. For the left-liberal newspaper editors , the reason is obvious: Simple people in paid work were something like the beasts of burden of the financial management, while the Wealthy of their obligations not nachkämen. Another explanation delivers Spiros Dimitrellis, Analyst in Wirtschaftsportal Capital.gr: The growth of tax revenues would probably have a corresponding increase in employment from 2014; after the escalation of the Greek crisis last summer was the employment, however, declined again.

As always: the threat of Finanzloch for 2016 to plug, is the state of additional revenue depended. According to media reports, checks the government in Athens, among other things, an increase in the tax rate for high earners, as well as the higher taxation of rental income.