Dimitris Bokas keeps meticulous records of the bathroom fixtures he sells from his small shop in the quiet middle-class residential neighborhood of Koukaki near the center of Athens — just in case a tax inspector makes a surprise visit to ensure Greece’s 23 percent sales tax is being collected and reported correctly.
But Bokas also does installation and repair jobs — and half of those involve cash deals with no receipts for his labor. The result is that a job costing 250 euros ($275) goes for 125 euros because he doesn’t charge the client sales tax and Bokas doesn’t report the income for taxation. “I’ve got a receipt for everything I sell in my shop,” Bokas said. But tax officials “don’t know what my hands do.”
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Tax dodging among Greeks started as a sign of patriotism during nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule that ended in 1821. It continues today amid mistrust over government spending and disdain over how the country’s various administrations have handled Greece’s financial mess after the economy imploded in 2009.
“A lot of Greeks believe it’s not only a way to cheat the inefficient Greek government, but a way to exert small time resistance to the bailout agreement and tax hikes,” said Aristidis Hatzis, a professor of law and economics at Athens University. “They do not perceive this as a kind of corruption.”
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