Disabled man says he was abused by tax official

The Tax Commissioner said on Monday his department has received a complaint from a member of the public – a disabled person – claiming to have suffered ‘abuse’ from an employee there.

Soteris Markides told the Cyprus News Agency that he will immediately forward the complaint to the finance ministry, the relevant department to investigate.

“Whenever we’ve had similar complaints we’ve forwarded them for investigation, without hiding anything,” he said.

The Tax Commissioner added that the department has a zero-tolerance policy on corruption. To this end, over the past year they have implemented a rotation system so that functionaries – especially those dealing with taxpayers – do not perform the same duties for a long period of time.

The disabled person filing the complaint also notified the finance ministry, the ombudswoman and the media.

In his letter, the person said he faces serious mobility issues, is 75 per cent disabled, holds a disability card for about 13 years and needs a cane to get about.

Regarding the incident, he said that while on the ground floor of the tax office he was “verbally assaulted” by an employee.

“I feel offended and hurt by the incident, because first of all it happened in front of everyone else, and secondly because it relegates us disabled persons to second-class citizens,” the person said.

It was not exactly clear what happened. The Tax Commissioner could not be reached for comment later on Monday.

In his letter, the person said that whenever he visits the tax department he gets a ticket and waits in line like everyone else, without asking for or getting any preferential treatment.