MacroPolis

Improving tax collection in Greece has been one of the dominant themes over the past three years as the government not only tries to boost its revenues but also aims to ensure greater fairness amongst taxpayers, which is a key factor towards increasing the acceptance of the challenging fiscal adjustment program the country embarked on in 2010.

Although very high, the extent of tax evasion in Greece and its significance for public finances is sometimes exaggerated. Using World Bank figures, the Tax Justice Network found in late 2011 that Greece had the third largest shadow economy in the euroz...