Blind taxation hurts economy

Greece may have topped the chart in taxing corporations and individuals over the last decade, but the latest data show that taxes have been imposed in a haphazard fashion in this country.

This week's report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) revealed that most revenues for the Greek state in 2019 derived from taxing goods and services (value-added tax and consumption taxes), amounting to 15.3% of gross domestic product, while in the rest of the OECD member-states' takings mainly originated from income tax.

At the same time a study by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) shows that during the period of the country's fiscal adjustment - i.e. in the 2010s - special consumption taxes were mostly used for boosting tax revenues by increasing rates and imposing new special levies.

This policy, analysts point out, ...