Greece imposes strict capital controls on pensioners and civil servants!

ATHENS, Greece (PNN) - October 12, 2015 - In a stunning move towards the elites' endgame of “banning cash,” Greek authorities unveiled stricter capital controls for civil servants and pensioners this weekend. By drastically limiting cash withdrawals and forcing the more “controllable” compulsory use of plastic money, Greek authorities hope to stop tax evasion through the use of “fake cash registers”. Civil servants and pensioners will be subject to stricter capital controls than other Greeks. They will be able to withdraw only €150 per week - with the cash withdrawal cap being €420 per week - that is a total of €600 per month. The rest of their wage or pension they will have to spend by using debit or credit cards.

The news fell like a bombshell on Saturday evening and spoiled the weekend for millions of Greeks. It will probably spoil the rest of their lives too.

Greek media revealed that the Finance Ministry plans to impose such a measure in order to combat tax evasion, but of course, not tax evasion committed by civil servants and pensioners as this is not possible since the state deducts their share of taxes before they receive wages and pensions, but tax evasion committed by business owners.

According to the Finance Ministry plan, civil servants and pensioners will be able to withdraw in cash only part of their wages and pensions and the rest will have to remain in their bank deposit account. This remaining amount they will have to spend only through the compulsory use of debit or credit cards.

“The measure will affect 2.65 million pensioners and 600,000 civil servants,” notes newspaper To Vima, which revealed the shocking plan.

The newspaper adds that with this measure, the compulsory use of plastic money, the business owner, whether a shop or a professional like a doctor, plumber etc. will not be able to evade taxes since all transactions will be recorded in the banking system.

The Finance Ministry reasoning behind this plan is first of all the assumption that the money - or a large party of the money - it pays in wages and pensions is been used in the real economy without receipt, thus without Value Added Tax and tax revenues for the state.

“Every month the State and the pension funds pay for salaries and pensions of approximately €2.6 billion, that is €30 billion per year. The salary or pension comes into the bank account of the beneficiary, who can withdraw 420 euro per week due to the capital controls.

This cash money is being used for the purchase of goods or services “and a large percentage of these transactions do not bring revenues to the state as the transactions are being done without the issue of receipt or receipt are issued by so-called “fake” cash registers, which are manipulated to show less revenues.

In this way, the state suffers revenue losses of approximately 15-20 billion euro per year due to uncollected Value Added Tax and income tax from businesses and the self-employed.

With this measure the state calculates that it will receive in no time revenues from V.A.T. and will not miss a cent from income tax. The state expects to rapidly increase its revenues and “proceeds to future reduction of the tax rates of 8.500,000 taxpayers.”

The Finance Ministry apparently wants to exempt pensioners of over 75 years old from the measure, as well as those living in remote areas where the use of plastic money is limited.

If the measure successfully increases state revenues and does not puts obstacles in the operation of households, “it can be extended also to salaries of the private sector.”

The plan revelation triggered an outcry and anger not only among civil servants and pensioners but also among those not affected by it.