ML-Implode News - Greeks Turn to the Black Market as Another Bailout Showdown Looms

Few problems are more ingrained, or harder to combat, than the shadow economy, which appears to be growing again as new austerity measures compel once law-abiding Greeks to go off the books. Greece's black market is estimated at 20 to 25 percent of the gross domestic product, as more people have stopped reporting their income to avoid paying taxes that, by some estimates, have risen to 70 percent of an individual's gross income.
As of last month, unpaid taxes in Greece had soared to 95 billion euros, up from â‚¬76 billion two years ago. Most of that is considered uncollectable.

"The heart of the matter for an ever-rising number of citizens and businesses is that they simply do not have the financial resources anymore to meet their rising tax obligations," said Jens Bastian, an economist and a member of a team of European Union specialists that helped supervise the country's earlier bailouts.''
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Yiannis [a media consultant] said he had also registered a company in Bulgaria, where the business tax rate is 10 percent, so that he could keep issuing receipts for freelance work. Tens of thousands of Greeks have been registering companies in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Luxembourg and other low-tax countries to avoid paying the higher tax bills at home -- which means less revenue for Greece's coffers and creates unfair competition for tax-paying entrepreneurs who could potentially play a bigger role in the revival of Greece's economy.
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The revenue that [Mr. Ladas, who runs a fire safety equipment company] does earn is steadily being eaten away. When he opened, he kept around 60 percent of his profit, after taxes. Today, his take is about 30 percent, after tax increases approved by the Greek government to meet budget-cutting and revenue targets imposed by creditors.

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Greeks Turn to the Black Market as Another Bailout Showdown Looms