I really want to know out of curiosity. I have absolutely no problem with the country or the Dutch people but all I read in all their papers, sites and even reddit by them is negativity against us (lazy, want our money back, you want no help etc etc and all. that). Look at what a Dutch paper had today. Wtf
Posted Jul 7, 2015, 2:11 PM UTC
Not about the Dutch. Almost all EU states reacted in a similar way to Greece's actions, just expressed differently.
I could reel off covers of top newspapers in multiple countries, let alone satirical cartoons, that are in a similar vein.
Do you think Greece's actions would be broadly welcomed in other Eurozone or even EU countries by anyone other than far left political parties or far right political parties?
They are a protestant country and traditionally value hard work, a frugal life and honesty. They also made a shit-ton of money as traders and new feel superior to another traditional trading nation.
Ain't it obvious. You guys even leave houses unfinished so you don't gotta pay as much tax for them.
The masters of tax-evading
So that's the reason! I always thought the people with those houses must have run out of money!
Read my comment above
In cellularized's case, it was probably sarcasm.
I saw this in Turkey too. Didn't know why they did it.
How does that work?
To my knowledge that is false. It may have happened, but it doesn't have any validity anymore, perhaps even before the crisis. Also, tax evasion, per capita, in Greece is lower than many other countries of the EU. Including Italy, Germany, France.
Wtf. The reason you see the houses unfinished is because you don't have as much money. Some fathers start the houses for their kids to finish. They have no money to built the whole thing so they at least get the property, the permit and put the cement. Those things alone could cost a fortune.
EDIT: downvote all you want but that's the truth. Also read my other comment below about electricity and taxes
Leave the girders up top so the building is deemed unfinished. People live in the houses - everything inside is finished, it's all good, BUT those girders on the roof mean that you don't have to pay as much tax. So why not just leave 'em up there and say that "oh, my son's gonna build that floor. This house is still under construction."
There is no such law, which mandates a different amount of tax for housing "under construction". There's nothing related to your claim in a tax form - either you live somewhere or you don't, and its "under construction" status is irrelevant. In 30+ years of living here, I've never once seen or heard anything like your claim. I urge you to quote the related law, if you could (it should be easy, just click the related field in your tax form and you'll get a short text quoting the relevant legislation) - I assume you've submitted your taxes in Greece?
There is no such law, which mandates a different amount of tax for housing "under construction".
The question is if there is a law that changes the objective value of a building if it's unfinished.
Because according to this document (p. 13) there is a special status coefficient of 0.4 for unfinished buildings. That means the taxed value of a building is reduced to 40% if it's unfinished.
If that is the case, the next question is what the Greek law considers unfinished.
Are we at the point where we make up stories now? There's absolutely not such law, and a building requires proper documents and (costly) structured plans to be supplied with electricity, water and phone.
If it's made up this was made up a long time ago. I've heard that story from people that took a tour in Greece in ~2000. Their tour guide told them. Sure, tour guides tell a lot of bullshit, but there's usually a bit of truth in everything.
The story made news in 2010 as well. For example in the telegraph.
He's not inventing anything, i've heard it before from compatriots in face to face exchanges, but it is untrue, at least for the past years.
Another crazy claim upvoted.
Completely wrong. By the time you get electricity then the house is considered finished and the taxes are paid. The metal you leave on top is in case you decide to build another floor and connect it to make it solid. We have tons of earthquakes. Do you also think that people cut electricity to avoid taxes; lol
That is the explanation I got for Turkey too, but is there any merit to the claim that you avoid paying taxes on the house while it's "unfinished". Or is it just rude speculation.
Tax avoidance is the only reason. They take advantage of intentional loopholes in the tax law.
Tax avoidance in Greece per capita is lower than in Italy and i think lower than France or Germany, although i didn't do the math for these two.
It's almost always about taxes. Unless we're speaking of third world countries with no banking sector - in such countries, people build for years from savings. Typical in places like Ghana.
I see. Like the cathedrals in the Middle Ages. Have you guys tried to build smaller, more affordable, dwellings?
Folly, we have recently realized that bigger is better. That's why we are building the one of the biggest churches in Europe and the biggest mosque, got to score em divinity points.
Hahaha. Yeah. No :)
I am full of admiration for the Dutch. They created their own country and now provide tons of fruit, veg and flowers for Europe
Yep, everybody loves dutch flowers amirite? wink wink
Tbh I find that cartoon to be very fitting. Greece is doing everything we here in .NL find wrong: we pay the taxes very stricty, we have a tight budget (although it was pretty crap for a few years), we keep our promises, we dont like clown to lead us. We even paid up 25 billion to try to save .GR and teach how to properly run a country. All we got was a thnx-no-thnx, and now plz bugger of. Our PM isnt of my party, but I liked what he preached yesterday.
One should not borrow money from a Dutchman unless he/she is absolutely sure he can return it in a timely manner including any interests down to the last cent.
I do not blame the Greeks for this, our elite should have never borrowed money to a bankrupt state in the name of tax payers, to bail out private interests.
It's not just the Netherlands, a lot of European countries react the same way.
But maybe it also has partly to do with the fact that in the Netherlands they have (or used to) a so-called Protestant work ethic.
Work hard, don't waste money and all that stuff. That may be an exaggeration since not everyone will do this, but from my experience it tends to be true for a large part of the Dutch people I know. And I can imagine this clashes with the idea they get of Greece.
Dutch people are about as bad as Scots when it comes to money. After all, "guilty" and "owed" are the same word in Dutch (schuldig) and so are "sin" and "waste" (zonde).
Same in Swedish, i guess we're also heartless, money hungry monsters out to get the poor, brave greeks.
Please, please, PLEASE! At least TRY to handle the banter.
Because you're of the optimal size.
Italy is worse then you, but they are too big shit to swallow and Croatia is worse then you, but we are too small shit to notice.
Hey its not a german tabloid ;-)
Oh the Dutch really hate just about everyone but a few notable exceptions, but right now everybody hates Greece so it's tough to say if it's you or them.
This year's Greek government actions are largely seen as disrespectful and deliberately insulting. The dominant narrative is of a country which is trying its hardest to dodge honouring debts.
Syriza even used the face of Dijsselbloem as a bogeyman for the OXI campaign...
And I guarantee you, the more Tsipras & co drag this thing out, the angrier public opinion gets. That cartoon very much sums up how Dutch people feel about the situation.
It's dangerous to Greece's interests to antagonize other countries so much. You might find that when Tsipras finally manages to conclude a negotiation, the Dutch parliament will vote it down, regardless of the actual content.
The main point of offense is that after all the insults and accusations, he still wants more money. Dutch people are a little allergic to requests for money, so they never fail to notice it, no matter how many words you put around it.
To be fair, after last week you will find this kind of attitude in almost every country. I feel like Europeans are tired with the Greek behaviour lately and the NO to the referendum just made things worse. You can probably find equivalents to this picture in every country.