The European Commission issued today a statement on the resignation of the Secretary General of Public Revenues of Greece Haris Theoharis. The Commission expects a transparent procedure of replacement and the smooth continuation of reforms.

“The Commission has taken note of the resignation of Haris Theoharis, the Secretary General for Public Revenues in Greece.

Since his appointment as Secretary General of Public Revenues in February 2013, to head a semi-autonomous administration within the Finance Ministry, Mr Theoharis has played a key role in modernising and digitising the tax administration, increasing revenue collection rates, and implementing major new tax reforms for income and property taxes. The revenue administration plays a key role in the reform programme and this development is a cause of serious concern.

It is essential that the government ensures full continuity in the delivery of planned reforms to improve the efficiency of the administration, combat fraud and evasion, and secure increasing government revenues. As Vice President Rehn has stated on more than one occasion in the past, this is not only a matter of economic efficiency, but also of social justice.

As such, in conjunction with our ECB and IMF partners, we will continue to closely monitor the Greek government’s commitment to a more autonomous revenue administration, as well as commitments to establish rigorous, transparent and merit based processes for the appointment of senior managers in the Greek public sector.

We look forward to a rigorous, transparent and merit-based process for the appointment of Mr Theoharis’ successor, to ensure high standards of integrity and independence.”