[farlander]

Honestly, they have a HUGE tax evasion problem out there. The whole southern europe is culturally predisposed against paying any kind of taxes at all, and noone has any qualms commiting blatant tax evasion crimes that people go to prison over here. The inept governments have had very little success clamping down on it. Heck in some places they advertise on billboards “please pay your taxes, it pays for the schools and hospitals”.

[mewzilla]

Has a democratic country done this before, made transactions above a certain amount illegal, anyone recall?

[RayChuang88]

The whole southern europe is culturally predisposed against paying any kind of taxes at all, and noone has any qualms commiting blatant tax evasion crimes that people go to prison over here.

Maybe southern Europe needs to switch over to a vastly superior and cheap to implement taxation system like this:

I'm surprised somebody in Europe hasn't read this book and figured out that by no longer taxing the process of earning money, the local economy would literally rocket upward because you attract foreign companies to set up operations in your country. Mind you, Switzerland won't like this because it would kill much of their offshore financial center banking business, though.

[CRBDeuce]

The HUGE tax evasion problem in Greece...something like 40% don't pay taxes due, and 40% of the economy is 'under the table'. Gonna get them kicked out of the EU along with the other PIIGS as well. Especially if 40% of the currently paying countries stop paying as well! Of Course, the USA is nearing that cliff, with over half of the country on the take (instead of paying taxes, they're collecting from those that do... especially talking about gummit bureaucrats). Even if a gummit bureaucrat pays his taxes it's just going out of one pocket into the other...tough to claim productivity in that 'effort'!!