The skyrocketing use of debit and credit cards in Greece – especially after the imposed capital controls in June 2015 – has dramatically improved tax collection, increasing annual VAT remittances, for instance, by 50 percent in 2017.
According to a study by the Athens-based Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research (IOBE), if the use of “plastic” doubled in the country – reaching average European levels, in the process – VAT remittances would correspondingly grow by 3.3 billion euros a year.
IOBE’s study also notes that more targeted measures are needed in order to further promote the use of debit cards for payments – instead of cash – essentially the “fuel” for the country’s “grey” or “off-the-books” economy.
While the use of debit and other banks cards has mushroomed since 2015, Greece still remains in the bottom quarter of EU countries (seventh from last) in terms of the value of electronic transactions as a percentage of private sector consumption, namely, 20.1 percent in Greece for 2017, as opposed to the European Union average of 34.6 percent in 2016.
Read more at naftemporiki.gr
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Petr Kratochvil License: CC-BY-SA
