Short on alternatives, he said, “many are falling back into the gray economy.”
Shutting down this gray economy is a priority for Greece’s creditors, even as the two sides are bracing for another showdown, with Athens
and its creditors arguing over the latest bailout, worth €86 billion.
Greece’s black market is estimated at 20 to 25 percent of the gross domestic product, as more people have stopped reporting
their income to avoid paying taxes that, by some estimates, have risen to 70 percent of an individual’s gross income.
Greece is aiming to strike a deal with creditors by Tuesday, when European finance ministers meet in Brussels to assess if Athens has done enough in overhauling the economy —
and combatting tax evasion — to unlock bailout funds.
Tens of thousands of Greeks have been registering companies in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Luxembourg
and other low-tax countries to avoid paying the higher tax bills at home — which means less revenue for Greece’s coffers and creates unfair competition for tax-paying entrepreneurs who could potentially play a bigger role in the revival of Greece’s economy.
Greeks Turn to the Black Market as Another Bailout Showdown Looms -
ATHENS — During seven years of a grinding economic crisis, Dimitri Tsamopoulos
has lost at least half the clients from his once bustling tax consultancy.
They’re saying they need a way to survive.”
Greece is the crisis that never quite goes away for the European Union,
and with another tense negotiation with creditors scheduled for this coming week, the country is struggling to recover from the longest downturn in the eurozone.