Tuesday, December 18, 2012

EU: Tax collection still lagging in Greece

A woman walks outside the Greek parliament in Athens, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. Greece has imposed deeply unpopular spending cuts and tax hikes over the past three years, to secure vital international rescue loans. Greece is in line to get 49.1 billion euro ($64 billion) between now and March, with 34.3 billion euro of that amount due in the coming days. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A woman walks outside the Greek parliament in Athens, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. Greece has imposed deeply unpopular spending cuts and tax hikes over the past three years, to secure vital international rescue loans. Greece is in line to get 49.1 billion euro ($64 billion) between now and March, with 34.3 billion euro of that amount due in the coming days. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Pedestrians walk in front of a branch of Proton bank in central Athens, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. Prominent Greek businessman Lavrentis Lavrentiadis was arrested Thursday Dec. 13 over his alleged involvement in a scandal involving the Proton Bank, in which he was the major shareholder. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Striking Greek municipal employees chant slogans and bang on pots and pans during a protest outside at the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. Greek municipal workers demonstrated against government plans to suspend 2,000 civil servants for potential dismissal due to state budget cuts. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)

Striking Greek municipal employees chant slogans during a protest outside at the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece as a banner reads in Greek "bailout agreement" Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. Greek municipal workers demonstrated against government plans to suspend 2,000 civil servants for potential dismissal due to state budget cuts. AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)

BRUSSELS (AP) ? The European Union says that Greek tax collection is still falling well short of some key targets that need to be met to reduce the government's staggering debt pile.

The EU's task force to help Greece overcome the crisis that brought it to the brink of bankruptcy said in Monday's quarterly report that Athens still has trouble to deal with old, outstanding tax claims. With 2 months to go in 2012, it was still about a billion euros behind the EU target of recovering ?2 billion.

It said Greece made only 88 audits of large taxpayers, well short of a 2012 target of 300, and 467 of "high-wealth individuals," below a 1,300 target.

Overall, though, EU Vice President Olli Rehn said Greece was tackling problems "with determination and resolve."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-17-Greece-Financial%20Crisis/id-0ae66e1aa7784274b95c8ffadc9f8242

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