Sunday 09 March 2014  It's a taxing problem for the wealthy
Greeks  'There is nothing impossible to him that will try,"
according to Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the
civilised word in the fourth century BC but never attempted to
reform the Greek tax system.  Belatedly, this is what the Greek
government is undertaking. It is a crucial element in the latest
austerity package, which includes a cut in public sector
bonuses, a freeze on all pensions and a hike on value added tax.
"These measures substantially boost the government's chances of
reducing the deficit by 4 percentage points to 8.7pc of GDP this
year," according to Deutsche Bank.  There is a risk that higher
taxes and spending cuts on this scale will crush the economy.
But, even if the markets would allow it, Greece could not go on
borrowing more money at rising interest rates indefinitely. "If
they end up paying 7pc interest [on around €50bn (£45bn) of
financing needed this year], compared with an average of 4.5pc
last year, they will no