ATHENS, July 30 (AFP) - Greece declared Friday an amnesty on capital illegally funnelled abroad to evade local taxes, in the hope that up to 20 billion euros (24 billion dollars) will be repatriated.
According to a law passed Friday, tax evaders can transfer the funds back home through local banks on condition of anonymity against the payment of an one-off tax of 3.0 percent on the sum repatriated.
The offer is valid for the next six months.
Once back into the country, the money will be freed from any past tax liabilities or penalties.
The general accounting office said that up to 20 billion euros might be brought back into the country. This corresponds to around 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
But Greece's Economy and Finance Minister Yiorgos Alogoskoufis was more circumspect. "I'll be happy if 5.0 billion euros come back," he told a news conference.
Greece has one of the lowest rates of foreign direct investment in the European Union. Athens has exceeded eurozone public deficit limits, owing mainly to expenditure for next month's Olympics.