25.2.13
According to a study by the University of Chicago, in 2009 Greek tax payers concealed over 50% of their annual income, estimated to be 28 billion euros. This leads to annual revenue loses of 11 billion euros for the State, as much as the last austerity measures package was worth.
The study also revealed that doctors are the “champions” of tax evasion, who on average withheld income worth 29,944 euros, followed by mechanics (28,625 euros), educators (24,742 euros) and accountants (24,573 euros). The highest rate of tax evasion was noted in the sector of accounting and financial service (78.92%), followed closely by legal services (78.79%).
In order to determine undeclared income, the researchers collected data from a large bank that issued a wide variety of loans to all types of self-employed professionals. Then, based on the fact that banks determine their funding policy of self-employed professionals on estimations of their real income, the researchers were able to estimate the real income that could justify the level of loans.
The published data reveals scores of cases of accountants, lawyers, doctors, hoteliers, restaurant owners, traders and transporters who appears to have monthly loan installments higher than their monthly income.
