The secret to good citizenship, Portuguese tax authorities believe, could lie in giving away luxury cars.
In April, they will begin holding weekly lotteries in which 60 “top-range cars” a year will be offered as prizes to consumers who do their civic duty by asking cafés, restaurants, car mechanics and other businesses for receipts that include their personal tax number. The aim is to enlist ordinary citizens in combating tax evasion, unfair competition and the black economy, estimated in Portugal to be the equivalent of almost a fifth of official national output.
By converting sales receipts into lottery tickets, the government believes it can clamp down on tax dodgers as part of an effort to meet tough deficit targets set under the €78bn bailout deal.