Even if you want to pay taxes obstacles are put in your way.
I'll try to keep this brief, though it is almost funny -
The property tax introduced here several years ago was, at first, slapped on your electricity bill. But this led to a lot of the very poorest getting their electricity cut off and the Supreme Court eventually deemed that system unconstitutional. Fair enough.
So from 2014 it was levied as a standard tax, with forms and all. We got ours in the post and happily paid it. This year there was nothing in the post so I spoke to our accountant. She said it had to be done online1 and quickly printed out my bill. MY bill, not OUR bill, and she couldn't do one for MrsB.
Turns out the 2014 bill was just for me (I have an idea why) and that MrsB had to register in person at the tax office, for the privilege2 of paying. With marriage and birth certificates, copies of annual tax returns, deeds to the house etc. Probably retinal mapping images too, knowing the way things tend to go round here.
And, somehow, nobody noticed we'd only paid half the 2014 amount and nobody chased it up.
1 There are plenty of poor and elderly Greeks who wouldn't know a PC from a donkey, and have no desire to pay an accountant for the privilege of being presented with a freakin' bill. Put the damn things in the post, ffs.
2 Fortunately only 20 minutes drive or a little longer by bus. They did threaten to close it to save money, but the locals *concreted up* the entrance overnight (I kid you not) to prevent the computers and files being hauled up to the nearest city, an evil 70 minute drive up the mountains. Or half a day each way by bus.
[/rant]
I'll try to keep this brief, though it is almost funny -
The property tax introduced here several years ago was, at first, slapped on your electricity bill. But this led to a lot of the very poorest getting their electricity cut off and the Supreme Court eventually deemed that system unconstitutional. Fair enough.
So from 2014 it was levied as a standard tax, with forms and all. We got ours in the post and happily paid it. This year there was nothing in the post so I spoke to our accountant. She said it had to be done online1 and quickly printed out my bill. MY bill, not OUR bill, and she couldn't do one for MrsB.
Turns out the 2014 bill was just for me (I have an idea why) and that MrsB had to register in person at the tax office, for the privilege2 of paying. With marriage and birth certificates, copies of annual tax returns, deeds to the house etc. Probably retinal mapping images too, knowing the way things tend to go round here.
And, somehow, nobody noticed we'd only paid half the 2014 amount and nobody chased it up.
1 There are plenty of poor and elderly Greeks who wouldn't know a PC from a donkey, and have no desire to pay an accountant for the privilege of being presented with a freakin' bill. Put the damn things in the post, ffs.
2 Fortunately only 20 minutes drive or a little longer by bus. They did threaten to close it to save money, but the locals *concreted up* the entrance overnight (I kid you not) to prevent the computers and files being hauled up to the nearest city, an evil 70 minute drive up the mountains. Or half a day each way by bus.
[/rant]
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/1l9wVB2
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire