Karvelas rejects tax claims

On 13 October, composer Nikos Karvelas issued a written statement, published by Mega, rejecting reports about a tax audit involving him. He wrote that he had been following the systematic spread of defamatory reports and false information about a tax audit of him. He said that all income of the company he takes part in, including income from concerts at Kallimarmaro, and all of his personal income from every source, is fully declared to the tax authorities, with legal receipts issued for each.

“All statutory withholdings and all my tax obligations have been fulfilled in full. There is no tax obligation of mine owed to the state that has not been settled or lawfully arranged.”

He added that the tax authority holds all relevant data through the electronic tax database, and that his accountants will provide any data requested. Karvelas also accused people in the circle of singer Anna Vissi and some journalists of leaking information about his finances and personal assets. He said he would take legal action against any further repetition of reports presenting him as having committed tax violations.

The audit and the response from Vissi's side

Reports tied to the dispute say AADE tax inspectors are examining invoices from Anna Vissi's concerts at the OAKA stadium and Kallimarmaro, as well as financial records from her tours. People from her circle say the checks are routine, that they take place every year after concerts, and that the audit has not been completed. They deny reports of undeclared VAT from the production company for the two Kallimarmaro concerts, and deny that 50,000 euros from her European tour were concealed. They also say the amounts being circulated are not true and that all contracts have been signed and documents submitted.

The extortion claim

An unnamed person from Vissi's circle, speaking to Live News, accused Karvelas of extortion, saying he demanded 1.5 million euros even though he had already received about 700,000 euros from the production company in roughly four months before the concert. According to the same account, the production company also paid 250,000 euros as an advance to a self-management company for copyright, bringing these payments to 1 million euros, and Karvelas then demanded a further 1.5 million euros. These figures come from one side of the dispute, and no document cited in the articles confirms them. The chart below shows the amounts as stated in that account.

Sum Karvelas allegedly demanded (Vissi circle claim)1,500,000

Paid by production company before the concert (Vissi circle claim)700,000

Advance to copyright company (Vissi circle claim)250,000

Sum Karvelas allegedly demanded (Vissi circle claim)

1500000 EUR

Paid by production company before the concert (Vissi circle claim)

700000 EUR

Advance to copyright company (Vissi circle claim)

250000 EUR

Data from the article text

Other voices

On Monday, 12 October, actress and playwright Mimi Denisi, asked by entertainment programme cameras about the dispute, declined to take a side. She said the two artists are very talented people who have been loved and who, in her view, will resolve their differences. She said she could not stand gossip and that the two would sort it out on their own, before turning to the right of every creator to manage their work.

“As a writer and translator, a work I have written belongs to me. I can dispose of it as I wish.”

Where things stand

The statement from Karvelas, dated 13 October, is the latest development in the dispute. Reports on 12 October described the audit as ongoing, and the 13 October statement puts the composer's denial on record. Karvelas has said he will take legal action against further reports, while people in Vissi's circle say the checks have not been completed.