Dodging taxes or dodging the issue?

You know it’s August when journalists work themselves into a lather over a tax-dodging astrologist, as they did earlier this month. Granted, this particular Greek stargazer had allegedly hoarded some 4 million euros away from the prying eyes of tax inspectors. But the real news was that he managed to earn so much offering such a bad service. After all, if he were any good at predicting the future, he would have seen the taxman coming.

The snaring of an astrologer is usually about as titillating as tax-related matters can get, but it’s been an action-packed few weeks for members of the financial crimes squad (SDOE) and the newly formed Financial Police. They nabbed academics at the University of Ioannina who allegedly denied state coffers 700,000 euros, they caught 31 tourism-related businesses hiding their profits and the new hotline for citizens to register suspicions of tax evasion has reportedly been doing roaring business.

In euro’s moment of destiny, bold may not be bold enough for Greece

Graffiti by Absent

Eurozone leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday for an emergency summit whose main aim will be to agree on a second bailout package for debt-burdened Greece as it becomes increasingly obvious that the current system of providing interest-bearing loans to Athens in return for austerity measures and structural reforms is not viable for much longer.

The summit is shaping up as a pivotal moment in the single currency’s history because in attempting to address the Greek situation, eurozone leaders are set to adopt unprecedented measures that could pave the way for a much more radical and comprehensive approach to the debt crisis.