The fiasco of the new single property tax (ENFIA) has cast the spotlight on how tax law in Greece is legislated and by whom. There are many complaints that Greek tax laws are initially presented in English and are hurriedly translated before being transcribed into law.
“It is a well-known fact in ministerial circles that texts, not just for ENFIA but for many other draft bills concerning taxation, arrive ready in the English language,” says Triphon Alexiadis, the Vice President of the Federation of Tax Officers. He adds that all that is done with these pro-cut tax measures is a simple translation into the Greek language. “Sometimes there is such a rush to satisfy the troika’s demands that the taxes don’t even reflect Greek reality.”
ENFIA’s vast gap from reality was seen last Monday when Government Spokeswoman Sofia Voultepsi gave reassurances that producers affected by the Russian embargo would receive compensation at a time when the new single property law prevents any form of subsidy to be given to those who have tax arrears.
Foreign interference explains why ENFIA had no clauses providing tax exemptions for the disadvantaged, such as the chronically ill and low-income earners, as is customary in Greek law. In fact, Alexiadis points out that it is highly unlikely that ENFIA was written by an official who is aware of Greek reality and bears the hallmark of the troika in the way it is composed, such as the clarification that spouse and children should have no arrears in money owed to the Tax Office and social security funds for there to be any tax deduction.
Finance Ministry officials have often complained that draft legislation arrives to them either in the English language or in a poor translation. The Development Ministry had encountered a similar problem in the past when a British legal firm had tried to pass a law on commercial leasing based totally on English law. The measures proposed were so distant from Greek reality that even the political leadership had reacted.
Independent MP Mimis Androulakis had brought the issue of legal outsourcing of tax legislation to Parliament with a question to Deputy Minister of Finance George Mavraganis at the start of the year, however had not received an answer. Socialist PASOK MEP Kriton Arsenis had also lodged similar complaints, pointing to intransparency in the troika’s relations with government advisors.
