Debts to the state keep increasing

Debts to the state are growing steadily as the financial state of households in Greece continues to deteriorate due to a policy of high taxation combined with "extraordinary" levies that have become permanent, such as the solidarity levy and the ENFIA property tax.

Figures released on Thursday by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue revealed that in the 30 days of November households and businesses added another 857 million euros to the stockpile of expired debts to tax authorities and social security funds, taking the year's total to 9.69 billion euros.

The bulk of November's arrears concerned unpaid taxes, which came to 801.2 million euros.

The new expired debts in November concerned 180.2 million euros of income tax, 169.8 million euros of property taxes, 282.8 million euros of value-added tax dues, and unpaid corporate levies of 47.2 million euros. The...