Inexcusable mistakes

Errors and blatant miscalculations in the application yesterday of the new Single Property Ownership Tax (ENFIA) – which has come to replace the previous Property Tax (FAP) and the emergency tax collected via electricity bills – were hardly a surprise.

Tax experts yesterday found that properties were overtaxed in as many as 457 areas across Greece. Meanwhile, tax officials referred fuming citizens directly to the ministry.

The hastiness with which government ministries are used to preparing legislation has often resulted in similar blunders in the past.

The question, of course, is who was responsible for the mess this time. Was it the mandarins at the Finance Ministry or is it their political superiors?

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras must finally punish those who were responsible for mistakes like yesterday’s ENFIA fiasco. Slipshod work and faulty data at the expense of taxpayers should not be tolerated.