Combating the large-scale phenomenon of tax evasion from the first day of 2024

In Greece, they decided to “press down” draft dodgers from the first day of the new year. According to the authorities, small entrepreneurs diligently evade taxes, which means they need to be so scared that they pay all the due taxes to the state. With large companies, everything is much more complicated…

For the smaller fish (that are caught by the tax office), a commitment to electronically transmit all business expense invoices, experts estimate, at this stage will be enough to put an end to inflated deductible expenses that even result in zero tax income .

For the biggest fish, the audit procedures will be more complex, since the goal is not only tax evasion, but also tax evasion through legal procedures.

Besides With the gradual activation of all new electronic “tools” and the expansion of the scope of indirect control methods, the control mechanism can now more quickly and efficiently use the data it receives as a result of the institutionalized process of information exchange with other countries.

After all, the New Year will begin “Bank Account Nexus Crosscheck Application” workwith the help of which file data of financial products and analytical financial transactions, movements of bank payment accounts and other financial transactions of the citizen will be collected, in respect of which ELENXIS OPS can issue a warrant.

Tax havens

And if for the so-called “non-cooperating states”, i.e. states that have not committed to exchange information, everything is more or less clear, then for states with preferential tax status, verification procedures are more complexbecause there’s a long list many European countries included.

Such states include those states in which a legal or private person is subject to a tax on profits or income or capital, the rate of which is equal to or lower than 60% of the rate of taxation that would be due in accordance with the provisions of Greek tax law, if he was a tax resident or had a permanent residence representative office in Greece. In this case we are talking about countries with an indicator of 13% and below.

Possible transactions of Greek companies with these countries are subject to a ban on deductible expenses. In particular, the Greek Income Tax Code provides that the total amount of expenses paid to an individual or legal entity that is a tax resident in a state that enjoys preferential tax treatment is not deductible.

However there are two loopholeswhich clearly make life difficult for auditors.

Expenses in these countries are deductible: if the taxpayer proves that such expenses relate to genuine and ordinary transactions and do not result in a transfer of profits or income or capital for the purpose of tax evasion or evasion, as long as a legal basis exists for exchange of information between Greece and this state.

The new list of sites looks like this:

• Agios Efstathios (Άγιος Ευστάθιος)
• Albania
• East Timor
• Anguilla
• Andorra
• Vanuatu
• Bermuda
• North Macedonia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• British Virgin Islands
• Gibraltar
• Guernsey
• United Arab Emirates
• Ireland
• Qatar
• Kyrgyzstan
• Kosovo
• Cyprus
• Liechtenstein
• Macau
• Maldives
• Montenegro
• Moldova
• Mongolia
• Monaco
• Barbados
• Bahamas
• Bahrain
• Belize
• Bonaire
• Cayman islands
• Marshall Islands
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• Isle Of Man
• Hungary
• Paraguay
• Samba
• Saudi Arabia
• Jersey
• Torquay
• Turkmenistan.

Minimum corporate tax
Since the new year, a minimum corporate tax has been added to the “arsenal” of taxes, which applies to legal entities registered in the Union and members of a transnational business group or a large domestic group with an annual income of at least 750,000,000 in the tax authorities, in its consolidated financial statements for at least two of the last four consecutive financial years.

In 2021, under the coordination of the OECD more than 140 countries have agreed to introduce an innovative minimum tax of 15% on the profits of multinational corporations. However, according to a report from the Tax Observatory EU o gglobal tax evasionthis minimum corporate tax seems to have more and more loopholes.

According to the report, the global minimum corporate tax in its current form could generate just 3% of total corporate income tax revenue instead of the 9% it would have under a flat tax rate of 15%.

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