By PROKOPIS HATZINIKOLAOU From ekathimerini.com

The Independent Authority for Public Revenue has received detailed information on all the assets – real estate properties, deposits, investments – held by 100,000 Greek taxpayers in 10 other  European Union countries.

The initiative concerns data forwarded to Greek tax authorities by their peers in countries such as the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands, in the context of an agreement for the automatic exchange of information.

The Greek tax authorities will also be receiving data soon from another 10 countries, while the list will run up to 60 countries within the year. These will include countries that are seriously suspected for doing business Greek tax dodgers, such as Switzerland, Monaco, the Cayman islands, Panama, Hong Kong and Lebanon.

This information does not constitute evidence of tax evasion, but will be cross-checked with the income statements submitted in Greece to establish whether those assets have been declared and taxed; otherwise fines, interest and penalties will be imposed. The tax authority will receive the data on a yearly basis and will be informed about changes to taxpayers’ fortune in comparison with the 2016 data.

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