Screws are tightened on debtors

Starting in September, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) will be able to monitor debtors' repayment schedules in real time and message them immediately if they skip a payment.

The messages will also contain warnings of the consequences. A debtor, for example, who has agreed on paying back a debt to the state in installments will see the agreement voided if they miss two payments in a row. In this case, the outstanding part of the debt will be called in immediately and coercive measures apply, such as wage garnishing or seizure of bank accounts and property and, for some, the threat of a prison sentence.

An app providing for payment through a cellphone will be ready by the end of the year, AADE officials said.

Finance Ministry officials have said they could recover up to half of outstanding taxes by monitoring non-compliance in real time.