When cheating becomes a way of life

The story goes that tax evasion in Greece is a national sport, going back to the Ottoman Empire, which ran Greece until World War I. The Ottomans were so corrupt and incompetent and Greeks were so ticked off about being occupied, they just lied to the tax collectors and it worked. The Ottoman Empire fell apart and all that’s left of it today is that overstuffed footstool in front of your easy chair.

But the tradition has continued to a point that today tax receipts in Greece are almost 90 percent less than they would be if everyone actually paid what they owe. So no surprise the country has had trouble paying its debts.

The government attempted to crack down a few years ago, appointing a reformer named Harry Theoharis as chief tax collector. Be he quit last year after repeated threats to “break his legs.”

As in every country, the super-rich are especially good at evading taxes, but doctors, lawyers, accountants, and farmers all turn out to be pretty good liars when it comes to reporting their income. Strangely, the records show a lot of them manage to live pretty well even though their incomes are less than 10,000 euros a year – or so they claim.

I bring this up because you know where else tax evasion is becoming pretty popular? Right here.

Tax evasion in the United States is nowhere near Greece’s level, but it’s about seven times the rate in Germany.

And Congress’ repeated cuts to the IRS budget have sent a message that Congress is on the side of the tax cheat.

Which is all in good fun, I’m sure … until one day you wake up in Greece.