Author Topic: Pay by card  (Read 3843 times)

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Offline Maik

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Pay by card
« on: Saturday, 02 May, 2015 @ 22:31:09 »
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Use your credit card to fight tax evasion, Greek tourism chief urges visitors
Appeal to Greece’s millions of tourists comes as government plans higher VAT rate on islands most popular with visitors

Greece’s tourism chief has appealed to the millions of Britons planning to visit the crisis-hit country this year to use credit cards as much as possible.

The move comes as the government in Athens has signalled that it plans to raise VAT rates on some holiday islands.

Andreas Andreadis made the plea to what are expected to be record numbers of holidaymakers, saying plastic could play a key role in hindering tax evasion, a perennial drain on the Greek economy. “What we are saying is that on cash transactions above a certain level please use your credit cards,” he told the Observer. “That way it forces services and shops to declare it on the cash register and issue receipts.”

The tourism chief dispelled reports that Britons visiting Greece should pack extra cash. Recent coverage has cited a Foreign and Commonweath Office warning that ATMs could be turned off to stem a bank run. “This is an old warning issued back in 2012 when Greece was seriously at risk of defaulting,” he said. “The FCO itself has denied it.”

Tourist operators also dismissed the reports as alarmist. “We advise all tourists visiting any destination to take a mix of credit card, cash and whatever,” Noel Josephides, Sunvil managing director told Travel Weekly. “Look at what happened in Cyprus [in 2012]. No one had a problem obtaining cash. No country that relies on tourism is going to make it impossible to withdraw cash.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/02/greece-tourists-credit-cards-tax-evasion