[lbo-talk] Understanding greek tax evasion

[Tony Rolfe]

>From Doug's show I've listened to Varoufakis a lot as an authority on
Greece.   I follow an interesting blog from a Canadian pension analyst
Leo Kolivakis (he just happens to be Greek-Canadian) and I've pointed
him to Varoufakis as a resource.

He quotes Varoufakis today but adds his own commentary based on his
own experiences in Greece, conversations with family etc...:

"Tax evasion is endemic and happens at all levels of Greek society.
Business people, doctors, lawyers, accountants, pharmacists, and tax
collectors -- the worst offenders -- are among the people found guilty
of tax evasion."

see: http://pensionpulse.blogspot.com/2012/01/greek-german-wrangling-just-pointless.html

First, is there evidence that tax evasion is really endemic in Greece?

Second, if tax evasion is endemic, then why?

Our Canadian media frames this as a moral question--the Greeks are
unscrupulous.
But I wonder, considering north/south imbalances in the Eurozone, and
if tax evasion is commonplace at all levels in Greek society, is there
sort of a game theory type connection?