The Contribution of Electronic Tax Transactions to Increasing the Productivity of Greek Tax Administration and Serving Services for Citizens and Businesses

The Greek tax system is characterised by high tax rates which do not result in the anticipated revenue. At the same time, while total annual tax revenues remain fairly stable the tax parameters are constantly changing, leading to a number of peculiarities, as for example (PwC, 2017): seven changes in the corporate tax rate since 2005; tax-free income, 2 x the poverty threshold; low minimum tax-free income and low income threshold for the maximum tax rate; VAT deficit estimated at 34% due to tax evasion, tax avoidance, and ineffectiveness in the tax collection mechanism; indirect and property taxes well above most European countries. A modern tax system must fulfill certain principles if it is to raise adequate revenue and fulfill certain social objectives. Some of the most important principles or characteristics of a modern tax system are as follows: (1) Productivity or Fiscal Adequacy; (2) Elasticity of Taxation; (3) Diversity; (4) Taxation as in Instrument of Economic Growth; (5) Taxation as an Instrument for improving Income Distribution; (6) Taxation for Ensuring Economic Stability. In general, any tax system, even the most perfect in legal level, is not effective without reliable tax mechanism and reliable provided tax services to the citizens and the enterprises. The application of new innovative technologies could solve the problem of serving citizens and businesses in the time they deal with the tax administration services. A problem that is further compounded by polynomial and bureaucracy, which have a profound impact on the development of entrepreneurship in our country and a lack of confidence in the tax system by citizens. Therefore, the tax system should be easy and relatively inexpensive in its administrative use, be easily adapted to changes in economic circumstances, and be fair in accordance with their tax capacity. Finally, the tax system must be designed in such a way that individuals can ascertain what they are paying and that there is transparency in the fair distribution of taxes. The Tax Administration must invest in technology by fully computerizing its services, while also training its employees in new technologies. The adoption of modern technologies for the handling of tax cases is now a necessity and not an option, since they can be interfered with in critical processes to restore the proper functioning of the system. The purpose of this paper is to describe the contribution of new technologies in the conformation of tax policy of Greece and the themes that appear by applying electronic tax administration procedures in daily transactions of citizens and enterprises. The present work is supported by the results from nationwide research that was carried out in the Tax Services of our country.