These numbers have been bouncing around for a few minutes but I was finally able to nail down a credible link.
- Revenues -7% y/y
- Target was +8.9%
- VAT revenues -18.7% y/y
Finance Ministry officials attribute the slump in VAT receipt figures to the major cash flow problems that enterprises are facing. Some of the latter are choosing not to pay for their VAT in order to plug other holes caused by liquidity problems.
Austerity, leads to slower growth, leads to slower revenue, leads to bailouts, leads to more austerity… etc. On top of that, it’s abundantly clear that Greece doesn’t have a functioning tax collection system.
As this story gains more traction, I expect to see EUR slide. There are damning numbers.
