ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece is finally recovering from a fiscal crisis that stretched on for years. But for many taxpayers, the anguish is far from over.
With a 350 billion euro ($400 million) bill still to pay after eight years of international bailouts, the country’s tax office is resorting to increasingly draconian tactics, reaching directly into the bank accounts of ordinary citizens who have fallen behind on payments.
Retired school teacher Yiota Kalomiri thought some mistake had been made when she saw half her pension missing in April. Bank staff informed her they had received a seizure notice and instructions to execute it without providing any warning or formal notification.
Successive waves of emergency taxes heaped on Greeks during the crisis have left over 100 billion euros ($114 billion) uncollected. That’s equivalent to more than half the country’s GDP.
