Greek authorities are looking for tax evaders through their social media posts

The Greek Ministry of Finance will scan social networks, in particular Facebook and Instagram, for tax evaders.

The “hunt” for tax evaders in social networks is aimed at revealing the hidden income of individuals, as well as companies that do business via the Internet, according to the Sunday edition of the newspaper realnews.gr.

Taxpayers will be screened based on photos they post on FB and Instagram that show them in luxury cars, houses, yachts, etc.

Auditors will use social media to collect information, such as photographs of luxury goods being audited, to uncover information that suggests they live a luxurious lifestyle that does not match the income they declare on their tax returns.

“If I post a picture in my friend’s car, it doesn’t say much about my own income,” one woman commented on a related report by the state-run ERT TV channel. For her part, the “influential person” said that she deals only with companies that do not engage in tax evasion, and declares all income to the tax office.

As for companies, the Ministry of Finance and the Independent State Revenue Office (AADE) should catch taxpayers who, through their Facebook and Instagram accounts, sell various goods at attractive prices, but without declaring specific transactions to the tax office, as a result of which they do not pay VAT and income tax.

Tax officials will check sales through social networks, study the number of friends of each business, as well as comments from buyers. Typically, the amount of tax evasion in such cases is tens of thousands of euros, Realnews notes, citing sources in the ministry.

Source link