Investing.com -- Greek leaders appear to be doing everything humanly possible to raise enough revenue to meet the strict demands of its euro zone creditors.
Greece's finance ministry is facing a Monday deadline where it must submit a list of reform measures to 19 other finance ministers in the euro zone before it receives a critical stimulus package that is believed to help it stave off bankruptcy. On Thursday, Yanis Varoufakis, the Greece foreign minister, sent a draft of the letter to the Financial Times in an effort to publicize the government's drastic undertakings. The reforms include: hiring students, housekeepers and even foreign tourists to pose as undercover tax collectors, as well as accruing public revenue through the licensing of online gambling.
"We envisage that the recruits will come from all walks of life, who will be paid hourly and who will be hard to detect by offending tax dodgers," the minister wrote in the letter. "The very news that thousands of casual onlookers are everywhere, bearing audio and video recording equipment on behalf of the tax authorities, has the capacity to shift attitudes very quickly, spreading a sense of justice across society."
The letter went on to explain that is "virtually impossible," for tax inspectors to put a serious dent in tax evasion schemes that transpire in places such as nightclubs and the medical services industry on its limited budget. Accordingly, the ministry has proposed to hire a large number of "non-professional inspectors," to work on a casual basis of no longer than two months with no possibility for additional employment.
Tax evasion is one of the biggest problems facing Alexis Tsipras' new Syriza government. Shortly after assuming office in January, Tsipras unveiled a plan to raise an additional €3 billion to combat tax avoidance in the country. Tsipras further claimed that tax evasion is responsible for causing state losses of between €10 and 20 billion a year.
The ministry is also reasonably confident that taxation of licensed online gambling could net the government an additional €500 million per year.
Greece is facing another impending deadline where it must re-pay a loan of 1.5 billion to the International Monetary Fund in the next two weeks.