Greece 'Names And Shames' Top Tax Dodgers

Debt-laden Greece has released a list of 4,000 of the country's biggest tax dodgers as part of a name-and-shame policy to get evaders to pay up.

A famous singer, retired basketball star and former media magnate are among those on the list published by the Greek government.

The debts listed total almost £13bn, with the worst offender owing the state nearly £8.4m.

Tax evasion is endemic in Greece and its international lenders, the EU and the IMF, have insisted that Athens improve its tax collection if they are to continue bankrolling the debt-crippled country.

Greece has about £50bn in unpaid taxes, a figure equivalent to about a quarter of its economy, according to an EU report published in November.

The 'name and shame' list came as EU finance ministers met to discuss the ongoing crisis in Greece and the rest of the eurozone.

The Institute of International Finance (IIF) , which represents Greece's creditors, is also holding a press conference on Tuesday ahead of this week's World Economic Forum in Davos.

The Greek tax evader list includes veteran singer Tolis Voskopoulos, former basketball player Michael Misounof and a whole host of business tycoons.

At the top is a 58-year-old accountant who is currently serving a 504-year prison sentence for tax fraud. He allegedly owes £794m, most of which is in surcharges and fines.

With many other tax dodgers on the list also in prison or bankrupt, Greece's finance ministry acknowledged that it would be extremely hard to collect many of the outstanding debts.

Finance ministry official Haris Theocharis said: "The truth is that these lists contain debtors who in some cases have owed the money for a long period of time, so after a certain point one does not expect to be able to collect the debts.

"But I'm sure that there are possibilities ... In some cases (publication) will push debtors to settle their debts, and tax offices to redouble their efforts."

Greece 'Names And
Shames' Top Tax Dodgers

Despite repeated pledges over the past two years, Greek officials have failed to make progress in collecting outstanding debts.

Little more than a tenth of the £50bn owed in tax is seen as collectible.

Greece's 2011 budget deficit is expected to be around £16.5bn. This compares to an annual gross domestic product of about £182bn.

The Greek government has acknowledged the grave shortcomings of its tax service, even admitting that a hugely unpopular new property tax, under which non-paying households will have their electricity cut off, might not have been imposed if the tax collection system was more efficient.

©Sky News