The announcement from the Ministry thanked Mr Theocharis for his service, noting that he had taken over the leadership of the Revenue service under difficult circumstances after the position had been left vacant for over a year and during the peak of the fiscal crisis.
Mr Stournaras was quoted as saying that Theocharis had ‘systematically surpassed targets’ despite having to effectively rebuild the customs and tax system from scratch which was ‘reflected in the positive budgetary results.’
Theocharis’s departure was announced following a meeting with Mr Stournaras and Nikos Karavitis who had been speculated to take over the position a year ago. Stavros Papastavrou, a close aide to Antonis Samaras who has also been mentioned as a potential successor for Stournaras, was also present at the meeting
“I am leaving with my head held high, I can’t lift my head any higher,” Mr Theocharis was reported to have said following the announcement, evidently moved with tears in his eyes. “I did not take any of the measures,” he said referring to the painful tax hikes, the implementation of which he oversaw. “Not a single measure. All measures are taken by the democratically elected government and the parliament. My job was to implement them. That was my job, to take over a revenue administration relatively in ruins. The evaluation which will happen will be incomparably high.”
Prior to the announcement speculation had been rife over the likelihood of Mr Theocharis’s departure, with many linking the probable move to the government reshuffle which is expected to be announced on Tuesday and a key point of which will likely be a change in leadership of the Finance Ministry. Various leaks had already indicated that the reshuffle would involve not only cabinet positions but state agencies as well. At the meeting between Stournaras and Theocharis, Nikos Karavitis was also present who had been mentioned as a possible candidate for the position a year ago.
However rumours that Mr Theocharis would be replaced reportedly angered the European Commission according to capital.gr, who see the move as unacceptable political interference in the revenue service. According to the report the commission viewed Mr Theocharis favourably as he had done “exceptional work during a very difficult time in Greece where taxes needed to be collected.”
The general secretary of the revenue service was appointed in January 2013 and had been given a fixed 5-year term which could only be terminated through resignation or in the event of serious wrongdoing. This was in order to ensure the political independence of the revenue service. The troika has reportedly communicated to the government its concern over the potential replacement of Mr Theocharis. The timing of the departure is such that it appears related to the wider government reshuffle currently being discussed.
According to Vima.gr, citing government sources, Theocharis’s departure was no great surprise as his relationship with the administration had become strained. According to the newspaper, the General Secretary had felt that he was being made an easy scapegoat for the failure of government policies. The government for its part was irritated at certain initiatives taken by the revenue service under his leadership, which it felt had cost it politically.
For his part the departing general secretary claimed that the decision to resign was his own. “I am resigning because I have to resign. No one is in a position to ask for my resignation. The time has come when a job has been done and you pass the baton to the next person. I am not a sacrificial victim. For those who feel that something has gone wrong should look at their own policies. I didn’t have anything holding me back. I made an effort and some mistakes.”
When asked why he had not succeeded in chasing major tax dodgers his said that the pursuit of tax evasion was the most difficult task. “When there are no processes and structures everything must be fixed before you can begin to chase down major tax evaders, because major tax evasion has big weapons and big lawyers.”
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