Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue, together with the Ministry of Finance, is preparing a new system to reward taxpayers who consistently pay on time. The initiative comes as the government’s deemed-income taxation model for freelancers and small and medium-sized companies has increased state revenue but has also led to a significant rise in unpaid tax bills.
Officials are considering a so-called “white Tiresias” system, modeled on the country’s banking credit registry. Under this scheme, taxpayers who keep up with their obligations would receive preferential treatment, such as more flexible payment plans or lower interest rates. The government hopes this will slow the rapid growth of overdue debts, particularly for individuals and businesses that are not chronic tax evaders but are now struggling with the heavier burden imposed by the new tax rules.
Recent data from the revenue authority covering January through August 2025 illustrate the trend. In August alone, newly overdue tax obligations reached €1.47 billion—an increase of 145.5 percent compared with August 2024. Of that amount, €300 million came from unpaid income tax and €889.2 million from unpaid VAT, much of it linked directly to the new deemed-income mechanism rather than underreported earnings from previous years.
According to Finance Ministry officials, numerous self-employed professionals who for years declared artificially low incomes are now resisting the higher taxes. Some have stopped paying altogether, refusing both the deemed-income tax and the VAT owed.
In total, overdue debts to the Greek tax authorities have risen to €111.6 billion. Nearly four million individuals and businesses now owe money to the state—almost half of all active taxpayers in the country. Yet despite the staggering figure, the government estimates that only €23 to €30 billion of this amount is realistically recoverable. More than €27 billion has already been classified as uncollectible, and another €11 billion is expected to be added to that category soon. In practical terms, authorities believe that only about one-quarter of all outstanding tax debt will ever be collected.
