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It seems like the financial problems Greece has been facing lately are taking their toll on everyone, not just the population. A recent report from German news magazine Der Spiegel claims that 3 manufacturers are currently under investigation for suspicion of tax fraud.
Apparently, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Opel used unfairly low prices for import to evade paying a lot of taxes to the Greek state. You might say “So, what if they send the cars cheaper over there? They still sale them at normal prices!”.
As it turns out, in Greece, taxes are being paid based on the import price tag. Therefore, the lower the price when the car enters the country, the lower the taxes they get. To give an example, the news magazine used a Mercedes-Benz S500 CGI Blue Efficiency model.
This model is imported into Greece at a price of only EUR22,135 (USD30,282) but ends up in the dealerships at around EUR125,000 (USD170,000), almost 6 times more. That’s where tax evasion happens.
More info is still to come as to how the manufacturers respond to these allegations.
As it turns out, in Greece, taxes are being paid based on the import price tag. Therefore, the lower the price when the car enters the country, the lower the taxes they get. To give an example, the news magazine used a Mercedes-Benz S500 CGI Blue Efficiency model.
This model is imported into Greece at a price of only EUR22,135 (USD30,282) but ends up in the dealerships at around EUR125,000 (USD170,000), almost 6 times more. That’s where tax evasion happens.
More info is still to come as to how the manufacturers respond to these allegations.
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