Greece vows to make rich pay

The Greek government has levied new taxes on the wealthy and declared war on a notorious legion of tax-dodgers, Reuter reports from Athens. The Finance Minister, Alexandros Papadopoulos, painted a picture of fiscal chaos with public debt exceeding 26 trillion drachmas ( pounds 73bn) and revenue growing by 13 per cent in the last three months.

The most significant change introduced by a new tax bill, is a long list of income criteria to be applied to hundreds of professional groups, such as doctors and lawyers, who are often accused by officials of grossly underestimating their salaries.