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Greece<\/a> continues to rank among the highest in Europe. Credit: Greek Reporter<\/p>\n An estimated \u20ac45\u201350 billion in \u201cblack money,\u201d or unreported income within Greece\u2019s shadow economy, is currently in circulation, accounting for nearly one in every five euros of GDP that escapes tax authorities\u2019 oversight. This persists despite major strides in digitalization and ongoing efforts to combat tax evasion.<\/p>\n Recent data from the Centre of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE)<\/a> underscores the scale of the challenge: the shadow economy in Greece stands at 20.9% of GDP. This is approximately 3.3 percentage points higher than the EU average, which currently sits at 17.6%.<\/p>\n Greece continues to rank among the highest in Europe, alongside countries like Italy and Poland. Remarkably, even with a significant reduction of 7.3 percentage points since 2003, Greece\u2019s informal economy remains nearly double that of Germany or Ireland.<\/p>\n As an analysis in New Money notes, in practical terms, this lost revenue to the State each year is equivalent to:<\/p>\n Two annual installments of the heating allowance subsidy The shadow economy can range from paying a babysitter in cash or waiters not declaring their tips to illegal arms sales and money laundering. Yannis Stournaras, the central banker<\/a>,\u00a0said that the problem of\u00a0tax evasion<\/a>\u00a0is an international one, but noted Greeks spend \u20ac40 billion more than they declare as income.<\/p>\n In the period 2015-2021, this excess spending ranged from \u20ac36 billion to \u20ac49 billion ($41-56 billion), the central banker said.<\/p>\n Is Greece\u2019s shadow economy larger than assumed?<\/p>\n
\nA relief package worth \u20ac1.7 billion ($1.95 billion)
\nA substantial increase in public sector wages and pensions<\/p>\n