The need to cover deficits in the budgets over the past few years has lead to a dramatic increase of taxes, with the burden mostly falling on employees who cannot evade taxes. The consistent inefficiencies of the tax collection mechanism, despite the progress that has been achieved, has resulted in everyone paying the cost. To Vima published a report in the Sunday print edition revealing the taxation insanity affecting thousands of low-income taxpayers who are called upon to pay a disproportionate amount of taxes.
People with irregular work, especially the young, who are just starting out, with the bare-minimum of insurance and the sort of income that should be tax-free as they are just under the poverty line are discovering that they are being taxed as if they were big earners. Small land owners and rentiers are also discovering that they are being charged many more times than in the past. Even the unemployed who happen to have a house or a car are being taxed, despite not having any income.
As understandable as the State’s need to collect funds might be, the insane tax raid on people who either have no income or are struggling to survive by working low-paying jobs irregularly is unacceptable. In the country with the largest youth unemployment rate it is tragic and unacceptable to literally squeeze the life out of anyone who manages to get a badly-paying part-time hob. It is beyond all reason to tax a person who earns 400 or 500 euros a month as a big earner. If one takes into consideration the insurance contributions that said person has to pay out of his own pocket for being self employed, then it becomes apparent that he his essentially working for the tax office and the insurance funds.
The Prime Minister and his Ministers should set aside the grandiose announcements and tack the real problems that the young, the unemployed and the occasionally employed are facing. They must finally do something about all those who systematically evade taxes and let everyone struggling to survive to catch their breath. At long last, a little common sense, a little fiscal and social justice must prevail…
TO VIMA
