Tuesday, July 5, 2011

The Chameleon XLE

James Surowiecki has posted a thoughtful piece on Greece's culture of tax evasion, but it was this fairly trivial though amusing detail that caught my eye.
Even while dealing with protests and open riots, the new Greek government is trying to change things. It is rationalizing its tax-collection system. It has simplified taxes and done away with some of the loopholes. And it has stepped up its enforcement efforts in ways large and small—tax officials have, for instance, been sending helicopters over affluent neighborhoods looking for swimming pools, as evidence of underreported wealth. These efforts have made some difference: the self-employed seem to be reporting more of their income, and the evaders have had to step up their game. (There’s now a burgeoning market in camouflage swimming-pool covers.)
Perhaps there's a marketing opportunity here...


Chamelion XLE - Watch more Funny Videos

1 comment:

  1. The thing I know about Greek tax-evasion is that they know where you live when you hook into the electric grid. So a family I know, owning a small island, avoids paying any taxes by running everything on wind and solar power.

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