Sweeping checks are carried out by Independent Public Revenue Authority (AADE) to influencers and social media protagonists who promote products and services. At the same time, the creators themselves at Facebookthe Instagram and the TikTok they have begun to defend themselves with the weapons provided by law.

A typical example is an influencer who was targeted by the DOU Syros for declaring all the income she receives. Her choice was made through indirect control techniques, but she herself knew how to defend herself and justify the origin of her income. He went so far as to appeal to the Dispute Resolution Directorate (DDR).

Although this influencer managed to escape, it is far from certain that all the other famous or less famous people who are targeted by the tax authorities will have the same fate. A single photo is enough for the “robot” of the tax office to start checks, while access to bank accounts, income and whereabouts is now almost automatic.

Some “shaking” audit cases are already being conducted to verify whether the cause of tax evasion has indeed been identified. The checks are not limited to just the latest posts, but span years, looking for anything that has been “uploaded” online.

How the special algorithm works

The algorithm focuses on the accounts maintained on social media. Every time a photo or video is “uploaded”, which has “tagged” many accounts of companies and professionals, then it automatically rises very high on the checklist, to verify whether it is business activity and advertising and therefore whether the corresponding documents are available . The same happens with those who show themselves to be traveling, dining in expensive restaurants or having fun in clubs and bouzoukis, who by themselves indicate where they are. Those who follow this “practice” very regularly are targeted by auditors to see if their incomes justify these luxuries.

The “line of defense” of the influencer from Syros

The DOU of Syros proceeded with audit verifications of the books and data kept by the influencer for the years 2017 to 2020, as well as an audit of her bank accounts (withdrawals – deposits). She was asked to provide all the necessary information that would prove the origin of the sums of money credited to her accounts, and that they have either been taxed under specific provisions or are exempt from tax.

Although nothing suspicious was found in the bank accounts, she was asked to submit copies of invoices and any agreements with advertisers that appeared on her social media posts, which were placed on file with the Audit Directorate.

The auditors scrutinized the posts where, according to them, various products or businesses were advertised through tagged accounts. The audit concluded that due to her popularity, her posts had a positive effect on advertising companies, as thousands of users follow her and would likely want to emulate her look or lifestyle. Because there were no invoices for these posts, indirect techniques were used to determine her real income, and fines were assessed for undeclared income:

After the initial shock, the influencer filed an appeal. In the end, the TEN ruled that the indirect audit techniques should not be applied, as the auditors did not have sufficient arguments for the unpaid posts. The case was closed, without ruling out the possibility that similar cases may have a different outcome in the future.