Greeks Told To Declare Cash “Under The Mattress”, Jewelry And Precious Stones
When earlier today we read a report in the Greek Enikonomia, according to which Greek taxpayers would be forced to declare all cash “under the mattress” (including inside) or boxes that contain more than 15,000 euros as well as jewelry and precious stones (including gold) worth over 30,000 euros, starting in 2016, we assumed this has to be some early April fools joke or a mistake.
After all, this would be merely the first step toward full-blown asset confiscation, conducted so many times by insolvent governments throughout history, once the government cracks down on those who made a “mistake” in their asset declaration form or simply refuse to fill such a declaration, thereby making all their assets eligible for government confiscation.
It was not a joke.
Here is the take of Keep Talking Greece, whose stunned response mirrors ours.
Cash “under the mattress” totaling more than 15,000 euro, jewelry and other valuable items such as diamonds and gemstones, should be declared to electronic system of tax authorities, Taxisnet, as of 1 January 2016. Next to properties and vehicles and shares, now the taxpayers will also have to declare their deposits. And not only that. They will have to fill if they rent bank lockers and if yes, also the name of the bank and the branch, even if abroad.