Greeks will face big fines unless paying more through e-transactions

The rule kicked in on Jan.1

The year 2020 will bring a requirement in Greece that at least 30 percent of purchases be made using debit or credit cards to prevent big fines as the New Democracy government becomes the latest trying to crack down on using cash to evade paying taxes.

The rule kicked in on Jan. 1 under which salaried workers, pensioners, property landlords, freelance professionals and farmers must implement electronic transactions that can be tracked to check spending.

The wealthy, many of whom hide their income in secret foreign bank accounts, have evaded taxes with near impunity while directives are aimed mostly at people who can’t do that, government workers and others paid through checks that can be compared to tax returns.

Read more: the national herald