Independent Authority for Public Revenue

Tax inspectors are now focusing on individual taxpayers, who until recently were not on the authorities' radar as interest was focused on large-scale tax evasion by businesses. However, the major rise of short-term property rentals on platforms such as Airbnb and HomeAway is leading to individuals cropping up in the monitoring schedule too.

Debtors will have to satisfy six criteria in order to be eligible for the primary residence protection scheme outlined in a new draft bill that the government is expected to bring to Parliament in the course of the week.

After processing this year's tax declarations, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue is expected to demand an additional 3.7 billion euros from some 3 million taxpayers, even though this year's tax statements for 2018 incomes will lead to tax rebates and handouts adding up to around 3.5 billion euros.

Tax authorities are averaging 19 confiscations per working hour in response to taxpayers' failure to meet their obligations.

According to 2018 data published by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue, revenues from confiscations and debt settlements hit an all-time high of 5.55 billion euros last year.

By the end of March tax authorities intend to have released hundreds of thousands of bank accounts belonging to state debtors, provided that the latter have entered a payment scheme. Over the same period the tax administration will also have to pay off all outstanding tax rebates delayed by more than 90 days.

State revenues from confiscations and debt settlements are estimated to have come to 5.5-6 billion euros in 2018, a record amount in the history of the Finance Ministry.

Only 49,000 owners have declared their properties on the platform of the Finance Ministry's Short-Term Accommodation Property Register, which means that more than 35,000 owners have neglected to do so.

Motorists who have skipped the biennial inspection of their vehicles will need to visit a Vehicle Inspection Center (KTEO) soon or face a hefty fine, as the Independent Authority for Public Revenue is launching a cross-checking process in cooperation with the Transport Ministry to identify the vehicle owners who have neglected this obligation.

Taxpayers will have to declare all their deposits, real estate assets, bonds, cars and cash to tax authorities in 2019.

The electronic register of assets, known as the Periousiologio in Greek, will start operating at the end of the first quarter of the year and 8.5 million taxpayers will need to fill in a declaration form listing the entire set of their assets.

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.