The Greek state loses about 16 billion euros (17.1 billion U.S. dollars) annually, which accounted for about 9 percent of Greek GDP, in recent years from tax evasion, despite the efforts made to combat the phenomenon after the start of the debt crisis seven years ago, according to a new study released earlier this March by Athens-based think tank DiaNeosis.

According to 2017 tax declarations, 120,000 people, or 1.6 percent of taxpayers, are paying 2.7 billion euros, about 29.5 percent of the total income tax, as most Greeks declare small incomes.

Even though a large part of Greek society has been hit hard by the debt crisis, suffering from chronic unemployment and salary and pension cuts, crosschecks by the tax office in many cases have revealed chronic tax evasion.

According to the authors of the report, the main causes of tax fraud are over taxation, the lack of political will to tackle the phenomenon and a complex and unstable complex tax system.

Asked to comment on the issue of over taxation, Finance Minister Tsakalotos acknowledged that Greeks are facing increased burdens in recent years, but dismissed the criticism that the middle class is strangled.

"I have said we have strained, not razed the middle class," he said.

The minister, however, refused to make a statement during the press conference regarding the ongoing talks with Greece's international lenders to close the second review of the third Greek bailout program.

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