Tax evasion party at top hotels
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
Tax evasion to the tune of millions of euros was detected by the Independent Public Revenue Authority in top tourist destinations in June.
It is characteristic that in four hotels with more than 300 rooms and at least 4 stars, the concealment of turnover is estimated at over 1 million euros per unit only in June! These are two hotels in Rhodes, one in Corfu and one in Ilia.
According to information, among other things, the method of a tax official posing as a client was used. The tax official stays at the hotel and checks the actual data. This tactic was used in conjunction with research at the Booking and Trivago platforms, at the hotel sites as well as by phone calls supposedly for booking rooms.
In some cases, the discrepancy between the estimated gross revenues and the reported amounts as reflected in the VAT declarations in July was enormous. A total of 712 hotels and rooms were checked and 7 extreme cases were identified. From the first checks, in addition to the four units in Rhodes (2), Corfu and Ilia, two hotels in Santorini and Eastern Attica came under scrutiny, while a a unit in Halkidiki is considered ahigh-risk case.
The most provocative cases include hotel owners who, while aware that they were already in the process of being under scrutiny by the agency, reported zero revenue in June for VAT returns they submitted in July.
The positive thing is that the first findings from the checks on the 712 hotels and rentals that were inspected last year reported the an average increase in turnover 21% compared to the same month last year. This is attributed 50% to growth in tourism and prices and 50% to improved tax compliance.
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