The Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR) operates under the status of legitimacy, equity and mutual respect. Significant steps have been made to regain the trust of the Greek taxpayer, difficult as it may be, in the Tax Administration. The main principle that characterises the IAPR actions towards the taxpayers is one of being rigorous at monitoring the problems, yet lenient at evaluating the specific situations. Some examples are:
• Whenever natural disasters, such as fire, flood, earthquakes, or heavy storms occur, the IAPR defers all tax obligations for the specific regions for a significant period, giving the taxpayers time to recover.
• Taxpayers may interact with the IAPR Directorates either through email or through the call centre regarding their queries or problems.
• IAPR is currently editing and publishing handbooks that address specific situations (e.g. Renting Your Property) or taxpayers’ groups so that everyone is properly informed of their tax obligations.
IAPR did not have the trust of taxpayers from the beginning. Nowadays things have changed. Taxpayers/citizens are now connecting “independence” with meritocracy and they trust that all citizens are equal towards tax law, regardless of their financial status. Odd as it may seem, should there be a tax law that is not of their interest, it is the Ministry of Finance to blame for (this makes sense, since laws are a result of political production). As for the examples provided, trust has been gained and impacted by them, which is proven by the fact that whenever “something bad happens”, taxpayers freeze their payments for a while, waiting for the IAPR to announce facilitating measures in accordance with the Annual State Budget.
Trust & Compliance
