The Greek government has proposed hiring tourists to help uncover tax dodging businesses in holiday resorts as part of its efforts to rescue the country ’ s shattered finances . Holidaymakers could be recruited alongside students and housewives to form an army of so-called ‘ onlookers ’ carrying hidden cameras and recorders to catch tax dodgers . The plan , which met with immediate mockery from critics , emerged in a leaked letter sent by Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis to the President of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem , which outlines a range of reforms for the Greek economy . Revelation : The unusual plan emerged in a leaked letter sent by Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis ( above ) to the President of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem . In the letter Essex-University educated Varoufakis said : ‘ The culture of tax avoidance runs deep within Greek society. ’ Arguing that tax authorities were overstretched , he suggests hiring ‘ large numbers of non-professional inspectors ’ to spread fear among tax-avoiders . The plan would involve basic training for the amateur tax sleuths who would be ‘ wired for sound and video. ’ The inspectors , who would operate across the country with tourists most suitable for spying on resort areas , would not be able to confront tax dodgers or have any authority to carry out checks but the evidence they collected could be used in prosecutions . The inspectors would be hired for a maximum of two months and would not be re-hired . Varoufakis , finance minister of the new left-wing Syriza government in Greece , claims the move would create a new climate in the country . Secret filming : Holiday makers could be recruited alongside students and housewives to form an army of so-called ‘ onlookers ’ carrying hidden cameras . ‘ The very news that thousands of casual ‘ onlookers ’ are everywhere , bearing audio and video recording equipment on behalf of the tax authorities , has the capacity to shift attitudes very quickly spreading a sense of justice across society and engendering a new tax compliance culture , ’ Varoufakis writes in his letter . The idea however has met with derision from some quarters with one unnamed European official quoted as saying the plan was ‘ hilarious ’ . The letter is the Greek Government ’ s detailed response to a request from its European partners to provide a list of reforms for its economy , a promise agreed by Varoufakis last month in return for an extension of its current bail-out pending further talks . The tax spy proposal is one of seven reforms proposed by Varoufakis , which will be considered by Eurozone finance ministers on Monday . Other measures include taxing gambling , improving existing budget and tax collecting systems and creating a Fiscal Council which would act as an independent overseer of state spending . Laws to create the Fiscal Council were passed by the previous Greek Government but have yet to be put into practice .
Holiday makers could be recruited alongside students and housewives . All would be ‘ onlookers ’ carrying hidden cameras to catch tax dodgers . Plan emerged in leaked letter sent by finance minister Yanis Varoufakis . The unusual scheme has been met with immediate mockery from critics .