A
nd at the same time it is the starting point
for the major changes the Tax Authority
needs to undergo, in order to become a
model for the operation of Greece's public admin-
istration.
I never get weary of repeating that “independent”
does not mean “uncontrolled” authority. The IAPR
remains a Ministry of Finance agency, without
own legal personality, which implements the tax
policy of each government. It is accountable for its
actions and planning both to the Parliament and
the Minister, on a regular basis or whenever
requested to do so.
On the other hand, “independent” does not mean
“isolated” authority. Tax administration lies in the
hard core of the public sector, performing one of
the most important duties in regard to the opera-
tion of the State: the collection of public revenues.
The achievement of its targets is crucial for the
implementation of the individual policies of each
government. Therefore, it must be in constant
cooperation with all state agencies, and be sup-
ported in its effort to implement the necessary
changes and reforms. At the end of the day, the
quality of a country's tax policy is inextricably
linked with the quality of its tax administration.
What does the organisational and operational
independence of the tax administration actually
mean? First and foremost, I believe that our fel-
low citizens expect from us to: institutionally safe-
guard the operation of the Tax Authority, solely
focused on the principles of meritocracy, trans-
parency, tax justice, accountability, extroversion,
and continuous modernisation, free from partisan
or other motives. I am certain that this expectation
transcends even the wide parliamentary majority
that passed the law for the formation of the new
Authority.
Second, they expect us to provide an institutional
impetus to the effort for constant change to the
better. International experience shows that mod-
els of organising taxation around an independent
or autonomous Authority were selected in coun-
tries that suffered from reduced efficiency and low
quality of service to citizens and businesses, and
led to the significant improvement of the services
Trade with Greece
24
The Independent Authority for Public Revenue
is now a reality. It is the end of a long journey
that began in 2013, with the consolidation of all
tax, customs, and chemical departments of the
Ministry of Finance under an organisationally
and operationally independent General
Secretariat of Public Revenue.
A new beginning,
with a new authority
By George Pitsilis,
Governor of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue
