Whoever does not vote for the new draft bill incorporating an EU directive of collaboration on taxation issues “supports tax evasion”, Deputy National Economy & Finance Minister Harry Theoharis said during a debate in Parliament on Monday.
He was referring to the bill titled “Incorporation of EU Directive 2021/514 of the March 22, 2021 Council amending Directive 2011/16/ΕU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC7)”, which passed its committee readings and is set to be voted on in plenary. It relates to administrative cooperation on tax issues, taxation procedure matters, drafting the state budget, and the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund.
“Collaboration in tax evasion on a global level helps smaller countries like Greece,” Theoharis said in his addresss. “Without the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), we would not be able to tax multinationals with a minimum tax of 15%. Therefore, whoever does not vote for this draft bill is supporting tax evasion. Whoever does not vote for this draft bill supports Greece’s continued over-indebtedness. Whoever does not vote for this bill does not want Greece to gain investment grade.”
The bill, he underlined, would speed up the processes of linking POS and cash registers at stores, fighting the phenomenon observed in several checks this summer in which businesses charge customers’ cards without issuing receipts. The Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) “made its presence well known this summer, and continues to do so,” Theoharis added.
Greece has the highest debt to GDP ratio in the EU, and in order to reduce it, it must utilize its assets. This is what achieving investment grade and fulfilling its European obligations demands, he said, criticizing the opposition for “disagreeing with common logic”.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
