As The Tax Man Comes, Yacht Owners Take To The Seas

The Greeks think the simplest way to catch their rich as they bury their treasure is to find them on their yachts, or in their private planes, or Ferrari automobiles. Who other than the rich can afford such things? And. worse for the Greek government, who else has access to accountants and tax lawyers to protect them?

Greece has begun seizing the yachts and vacation islands of its most well-to-do citizens. It is difficult to go house-to-house to find out which people have swimming pools–another trapping of the wealthy. It is easier to visit a limited number of marinas to pick out the 75 footers which the wealthy claim they need because they are just poor fishermen.

Tax dodgers will take to the seas in great numbers this year. They will go far beyond sight of land to reach international waters. Like Aristotle Sokratis Onassis, they can manage their business interests without calling on a single port, or move to countries with more favorable tax laws like Ireland.

As the Greeks chase their wealthy from island to island, they do not ask themselves the question of whether there is a more efficient way to bring receipts into their treasury. A sales tax is harder to dodge than a tax on income. A tax on mooring rights is simpler than a tax on the source of the income to buy a yacht. A tax on island size is easier to administer than it is to research the price paid for the island.

Tax collectors have spent centuries doing everything from beating peasants to seizing land to operate governments. That is because the tax codes in most nations do not keep up with the cleverness of the rich. The stupid rarely catch them. The Greek government should have learned that and figured out more efficient ways to bring in tax revenue.

Douglas A. McIntyre