The final countdown has started for the first tax bureau receipts lottery, in which taxpayers who have made a large number of debit or credit card purchases will have the best chances of being selected in a random lottery to receive a 1,000 euro reward.
The move was designed to encourage the use of plastic money, in a bid to stem tax evasion and increase revenues.
Nearly 90 percent of purchases in Greece are still carried out with cash, according to a recent European Central Bank study authored by Henk Esselink and Lola Hernandez, in what was touted as the first survey of its kind in the Eurozone.
If all goes as planned, the first lottery drawing will likely be held tomorrow, and the winners will be drawn only from receipts issued in October.
One thousand taxpayers will be drawn from the lottery to receive 1,000 euros each.
A second large lottery is expected before the end of the year, in December.
Larger amounts will be distributed in the second lottery, as 12 million euros have earmarked by the finance ministry for the disbursal of the lottery rewards.
The second lottery will include all receipts issued until the end of September, 2017.
