Penniless shepherd owes €10.8m
65-year-old who lives in a hut and has a flock of 50 sheep allegedly cheated tax system 17 years ago
Athens: A penniless shepherd from the island of Crete is one of Greece's top state debtors, a report said yesterday, highlighting the daunting task facing the crisis-hit country in managing its chaotic finances.
Stelios Parasyris, 65, is deemed to owe the Greek state nearly €10.8 million (Dh40 million) after allegedly pocketing tax refunds using false documents 17 years ago, the Ethnos daily reported.
At the time, he gained 30 million drachmas, or €88,000.
Parasyris, who now lives in a hut and has a flock of 50 sheep, told the daily he has paid his dues "three times over" but state fines and years of compounded interest have driven his debt to astronomical levels.
"If the others on the list are as poor as me, I don't see a future for this country," the father of five said.
The shepherd is one of over 4,000 people on a list of state debtors released last month. The finance ministry in September had also named some 6,000 businesses and companies — many now legally defunct — owing the state over €30 billion.
Authorities have waged a campaign in recent months to round up debtors but the financial bene-fits have been minimal.
Arrest warrants for nearly 500 people were issued between Dec-ember and January for unpaid state bills and tax evasion. But most are freed on bail or with suspended misdemeanour charges.
Greece has chalked up a state debt of over €350 billion. It was given a €110 billion bailout by the EU and the IMF in 2010.
