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Greece: It's all those little envelopes

That the Greek economy is a basket case is now beyond doubt.

Why? One reason, amongst many, is that so few people pay their full due in taxes. The other is "fakelakia". What? Let Transparency International explain - from their 2009 Report:

"More than 13% of Greeks resorted to giving “ fakelakia” (or little envelopes) in 2008, paying an estimated €750 million [US $950 million] in bribes to public and private officials in 2008, €110 million [US $140 million] more than the previous year, according to the survey (Associated Press, AP).

Yiannis Mavris, head of the Public Issue, the polling firm commissioned by TI Greece to undertake the survey, noted that the amount equates to an “average of 1,450 euros [US $1,850] in bribes per family” (Kathimerini).

The majority of bribes, 60 percent of the total, are “related to doctor's fees, tax evasion and building permits,” said Costas Bakouris, Chair of TI Greece.

Bakouris called on the government, elected in March 2004, to enforce existing laws and create an anti-corruption task force (AP).

The six-month survey included around 6,000 respondents."

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