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The Tourist Snoopers of Greece PDF Printable Version


The Tourist Snoopers of Greece

Monemvasia
Lakonia
Greece

7 March 2015

Now Official: Proposal to Employ Snoopers to check on Illegal Financial Activities in Tourist-related Companies in Greece

Following the circulation of our report on conditions at Camping Finikes (see email below), the Guardian reports today that our initiative has been followed up by the Greek government. Here is a slightly edited extract from that article:

'Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has told Greece's Eurozone creditors that his government has a novel way of tackling the country's chronic tax evasion culture – wiring students, tourists and housewives for sound and video to spy on tax dodgers while posing as shoppers and customers.
 
Varoufakis said the backlog of tax arrears in Greece stood at €76bn (£55bn), but that only €8bn of this was probably recoverable.
 
He said the prospects of successfully countering tax dodging were dismal because of the demoralised and understaffed state of the tax inspection service. Instead, he proposed recruiting large numbers of “non-professional inspectors” on short-term casual contracts of no longer than two months, who would be paid by the hour.
 
The data the amateur snoopers gathered would be used by the authorities “immediately to issue penalties and sanctions.” Varoufakis said the launch of the amateur snoopers would act as a deterrent, “engendering a new tax compliance culture” in Greece.'
We now look forward to a brighter future both for Greek finances and for the 'snoopers' who in future will be paid for their work!
 
Bonnes Routes
 
Barry and Margaret
 
PS Spartan Lakonia is home to the laconic, as is Yorkshire.

 

 
Sent: Sunday, March 01, 2015 12:48 PM
Subject: Greece: An Allegory
 

Sparta

Peloponnese

 

1 March 2015

 

Dear friends

 

We first visited Camping Finikes in 2007 when it was newly opened. We have returned often and have been saddened to experience its slow decline. Since it is an interesting story in itself, and an allegory for the deeper underlying Greek disease, we copy a report we have written about its current condition.

 

So that you might find it in a form most suited to you, we have copied the report below and added it to our website at:

 

http://www.magbaztravels.com/content/view/1650/30/

 

The overall political and economic situation in Greece remains fluid and is perhaps best summarised by an article in yesterday's Guardian at:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/28/greece-poll-surge-syriza-alexis-tspiras 

 

There has been little immediate success for Syriza in their battle against the 'Troika', indeed in the short term they are having to back off from many of the initial pledges we outlined in the earlier article we circulated, and now on our website at:

 

http://www.magbaztravels.com/content/view/1635/30/

 

However, Syriza have helped to produce perturbations in the otherwise solid and suited ranks of the ECB/IMF/EU. Just as the proverbial butterfly flapping its wings in China could develop into a hurricane in the USA, so the naive protestations of a few untied leftists in Athens could lead to the shattering of Germany's renewed dreams of empire!

 

Barry and Margaret

 

www.magbaztravels.com

www.magbazpictures.com

 

 
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