May 19, 2010
TAX LAUGHS

In the midst of U.S. network news coverage of Greek rioters protesting new austerity programs proposed to combat the country's financial crisis, you may have missed a report in the New York Times describing an effort by the Greek tax authorities to deal with their budget woes.

In an attempt to crack down on rampant tax evasion, Greek authorities have made good on promises to name and shame some of the worst offenders. The Finance Ministry made public a list of 57 Athens doctors who officials believe are guilty of a variety of tax offenses, including failing to give patients receipts for their fees or even recording the visits. Twelve of the doctors recorded bank deposits almost double the amount of their reported taxable income.

When the authorities audited the tax returns filed by 150 doctors with offices in one of Athens' most expensive neighborhoods last year, they found that more than half of them were claiming incomes that would make it virtually impossible to pay their rent. Thirty-four of them claimed they earned less than the minimum necessary to pay any tax, and one dentist in the area reported an income of just $375.

So far, eleven doctors have been fined a total of $5.4 million, and some will face criminal charges.

As might be expected, the Athens doctors association is protesting that doctors are being unfairly singled out.

"Tax evasion is one thing," Giorgos Eleftheriou, the association's secretary told Imerisia, a business newspaper. "Misleading Greek taxpayers by laying the blame on doctors is quite another."

"Idleness and pride tax with a heavier hand than kings and parliaments. If we can get rid of the former, we may easily bear the latter." -- Benjamin Franklin

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The technical information here is necessarily brief. No final conclusion on these topics should be drawn without further review and consultation. Please be advised that, based on current IRS rules and standards, the advice contained herein is not intended to be used, nor can it be used, for the avoidance of any tax penalty assessed by the IRS.

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