No introduction. I ain’t got a decent one. So, let’s cut to the chase.
«τέλος επιτηδεύματος» & «εισφορά αλληλεγγύης». I really don’t know how to translate these two. “business tariff” & “solidarity contribution”? Could be. The first one is a 300€ charge to all businessmen and the second one is a percentage charge to all taxpayers. Three things to note here
None of them is called tax. My educated guess is that they could not call it “tax”. Had they called it as such, it could be thrown out of the courts. “Taxing” us retro-actively? Now, calling it “contribution”, calling it “special tariff”…. It changes things. Of course, that does not increase my respect to Law in general.
The 300€ charge is universal. There are a couple of exemptions, but they are not total by all means. For the sake of argument, let’s say that ok, businessmen tax evade. Quite a few of us. What I am wondering is that all these people who opened up a business because their boss made them do it, who in reality are employees, what about them? They only have one client. Their real life boss. Tough luck? Well… The state uses that measure as well… To circumvent actually hiring people. I know such people who work for the national tv, who work for the city….. They have a “business” only in order to be able to issue an invoice to their one client, the state. How about them? Why that 300€ charge? They *cannot* tax evade. They *cannot* not issue an invoice. Furthermore, they write no expenses…. What could they possibly write as an expense??? They work for the state. They have no tools of their own, they have no office of their own, they have no hardware of their own.
To show how unbelievably unfair that can be, I know of a couple who both work for the city. They make 12K+ each. They are 35ish and they have a kid. Now, these two people, who are obliged to be called businessmen, in order to issue an invoice to the city and get paid, they also pay the obligatory insurance, the one for businessmen. The state mandates that. So, they get ca 12500 each, they pay ca 2000 to the state (what was known as TEBE) as insurance. Now, the tell them to pay 1% as “solidarity contribution”. 125 each out the window. Furthermore, because they are businessmen (bad bad bad boy. Down! Down! Thief!) they also have to pay another 300 each. So, they make 25000 per year as a couple, minus 4000 for insurance, and they ask them to pay 2*300+2*125=850€……….. That’s half their monthly income. At least. Let me repeat it once more. They are “businessmen” only because the state cannot hire them…………………………. Their *only* client is the state…..
There is also one more “charge”. It’s called luxury contribution. You have to pay even more if you got a big car, a pool or other luxury accommodations. Lesson learned here? Do not provoke. Never buy a big car. Never, ever, ever. Never build a pool. Never allow the state to exclaim that you are rich because you have a nice car or something. Live humbly. The rest of humanity will be against you if they think that you have more. Human is a vile, envious, vindictive animal.
On Thursday, they published a list with all the corporations that owe more than 150K € to the state in taxes. Comments:
It is only taxes. It says nothing about insurance (aka IKA). I would really like to know how much money is owed there.
It was a most useful list. I don’t recognize 90% of the names there. However, I do recognize some of them. Some of them are funny. The National Railroad owes to the state? The National Railroad??? The state OWES the National Railroad. What is the meaning of it owing money??? Some of them are enlightening. I know two of the names in there. Quite intimately. They owe a cool 160million €. And the state is not going to get a single dime out of these two. Their owner transferred all his assets to his family beforehand. And even if they could get these assets, they only amounted to around 1-2 million €. Peanuts. How come he ended up owing that much money? Well… I don’t know the story *that* well. I was not the accountant. It was another person, whom I knew very well, and who is long gone. What I have managed to piece together is that one company supposedly sold stuff to the other. However, the sales never really took place. It was a scam. But not for the state. It was for the banks. They wanted to show that one of these companies was profitable in order to get a loan. (why did they need that? That’s another really greek story. The owner was a friend of a politician. However that politician died back in the middle 90’s. So the all new factory no longer had a protector. And the loans stopped coming. An ex-air hostess cannot do that much stuff to help you after all. Now, that’s greek enterprise at is best….). The state did get its taxes from these transactions. Even though they did not really happen. Nevertheless, because they could (and they did) prove that these transactions never happened, they fined both corporations. And that’s what these 160million € really are. The fines plus the interest since then.
One small side note. According to that long gone accountant, none of those charges would have been made, had the owner given the tax inspectors a little something….. I really don’t know how much that little something was supposed to be.
Yeah, I really really really have the greatest respect for the Law………
So what’s the use of that list? Well, next time they tell you that there are corporations that owe them taxes, know one thing. You cannot get money from one who doesn’t have any.
And a little song to tie it all up
Rumour spreadin’ around in that Texas town ’bout that shack outside La Grange and you know what I’m talkin’ about. Just let me know if you wanna go to that home out on the range. They gotta lotta nice girls. Have mercy. A haw, haw, haw, haw, a haw. A haw, haw, haw. Well, I hear it’s fine if you got the time and the ten to get yourself in. A hmm, hmm. And I hear it’s tight most ev’ry night, but now I might be mistaken. hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm. Have mercy.
mySatellite 