By Chrysostomos Tsoufis

With a form 14 simple questions AADE will attempt to speed up and complete by autumn – which is also its goal – the mammoth audit that has already begun and concerns the cross-checking of income and expenses for all taxpayers who declare an individual annual income of up to 10,000 euros.

And they are not few at all. About 6 million taxpayers -that is, 2 out of 3- declare, based on last year’s tax returns, up to 10,000 euros. The tax they pay? Just €400 million, not even 5% of total income tax revenue. So a bright field of glory for AADE to… uncover hidden incomes.

In her quiver the LIFESTYLE QUESTIONNAIRE which has been launched for about 2 months now.

As soon as the audit order is issued for one or more tax years, the taxpayer under the microscope receives – by mail or even by mail – a 14-question form. The Authority asks him within a reasonable period of time of 5-10 days – although things are quite flexible – to answer them in order to determine the amount of expenses of the particular taxpayer for the years for which he is audited. The Authority will then compare the expenses with the declared incomes and understand whether or not the taxpayer is living above his declared means.

As can be seen in the form obtained by skai.gr, in the first part of the form the taxpayer is asked to fill in basic information about him/herself -identity information, VAT number, contact information- as well as about his/her spouse if he/she is married and the children of if they exist. He also fills in the details of his legal representative.

The second section is also the main course of the livelihood questions and the examinee must answer:

  • If it was hosted, the years it was controlled and by whom
  • Since he is divorced, if he pays alimony and how much
  • The electricity and water supply numbers of the owner-occupied dwellings (main and secondary)
  • Mobile and landline accounts
  • The changes (purchases, sales, inheritances) in his property
  • The contributions he paid, mandatory and not, to insurance funds, associations, organizations, etc.
  • Whether or not he has a credit card
  • If he received any kind of loan
  • The premiums he paid for the vehicles he owns
  • If he has any insurance (life, health, retirement)
  • If he has insured his properties
  • If he pays tuition
  • Any other obligations to third parties
  • Details of his bank accounts

It becomes clear how with all this information it is very easy to find that someone has expenses of 15,000 euros, while declaring incomes of 9,500 euros.

If the taxpayer refuses to answer the form, there are no penalties. It’s just that AADE will need more time to gather the data through the various platforms it communicates with. Of course, in its books, the taxpayer will be recorded as non-cooperative, and because of this, its scope of control will be expanded.

See the questionnaire HERE