Greek Tourism Enterprises Among Top Tax Evaders in 2019

One in three businesses in Greece, appear to have violated tax laws in 2019, according to data released by the country’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) with tourism-related businesses and taxi services in the lead.

More specifically, 31 percent of all businesses inspected last year either failed to keep regular tax records or tampered with their cash registers.  

According to To Vima on Sunday, over 80,000 on-the-spot inspections were carried out last year, 25,000 of which produced 56,000 tax violations.

The country’s top 10 tax evading destinations were, according to the findings, Corfu with the rate of violations reaching 56.9 percent. The island of Chios follows with 38.9 percent, Imathia  and Larissa (36.5 percent), Halkidiki (36.1 percent), Corinthia (35.9 percent), Kilkis (35.2 percent), Magnesia (35.1 percent) Laconia (35 percent), and Pella (34.8 percent).

Top violators, according to AADE, were tourist boat rental services at 80 percent, followed by the taxi services (74 percent), clothing and footwear wholesalers (70 percent), car mechanics (66 percent), and household goods wholesalers (65 percent).

Also among the tax evaders were doctors at 59 percent, open-air markets (52 percent), car parks (50 percent), travel agencies (48 percent), and petrol stations (48 percent).

The largest number of tax inspections between January and November 2019 were carried out at food and entertainment enterprises with over 40,510 audits of which 10,951 produced 26,677 tax violations, 25,712 of which were for not issuing receipts.

The food and entertainment industry, which includes restaurants, cafes, bars, and clubs, accounts for the highest rate of tax evasion at 27 percent: 29.4 percent by restaurants and grocery stores, 25 percent by coffee shops and 24.6 percent by clubs and bars.

Last year, the AADE re-launched the consumers rights “Apodixi Please” (“Receipt Please” in Greek) campaign urging travelers to always ask for a receipt with their transactions whether they paid in cash or by credit.