Short on alternatives, he said, “many are falling back into the gray economy.”<br />Shutting down this gray economy is a priority for Greece’s creditors, even as the two sides are bracing for another showdown, with Athens<br />and its creditors arguing over the latest bailout, worth €86 billion.<br />Greece’s black market is estimated at 20 to 25 percent of the gross domestic product, as more people have stopped reporting<br />their income to avoid paying taxes that, by some estimates, have risen to 70 percent of an individual’s gross income.<br />Greece is aiming to strike a deal with creditors by Tuesday, when European finance ministers meet in Brussels to assess if Athens has done enough in overhauling the economy —<br />and combatting tax evasion — to unlock bailout funds.<br />Tens of thousands of Greeks have been registering companies in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Luxembourg<br />and other low-tax countries to avoid paying the higher tax bills at home — which means less revenue for Greece’s coffers and creates unfair competition for tax-paying entrepreneurs who could potentially play a bigger role in the revival of Greece’s economy.<br />Greeks Turn to the Black Market as Another Bailout Showdown Looms -<br />ATHENS — During seven years of a grinding economic crisis, Dimitri Tsamopoulos<br />has lost at least half the clients from his once bustling tax consultancy.<br />They’re saying they need a way to survive.”<br />Greece is the crisis that never quite goes away for the European Union,<br />and with another tense negotiation with creditors scheduled for this coming week, the country is struggling to recover from the longest downturn in the eurozone.
