Aug. 15, 2016 By Hannah Wulkan
EuroMarket has reopened after it was seized by the Department of Finance and Taxation last Thursday for owing about $220,000 in back taxes.
The Department of Finance and Taxation returned the keys to the owner, Panayiotis Menikou, on Friday, according to a spokeswoman for the agency, who said she was not permitted to provide further details. However, a seized property is typically returned once the owner has worked with the state to arrange a payment plan for the owed taxes.
Menikou set up a GoFundMe page on Friday to try to raise $200,000 to assist in paying off the owed taxes. On the page he blamed the store accountant for the failure to pay taxes, and explained that the store is “a product of 35 years hard work,” and is necessary to the neighborhood.
Though the GoFundMe page has been shared on social media 136 times as of publication, no one has made a donation yet.
One commenter on the page wrote, “Pay your taxes. Sorry if you got caught dodging them, but pay up. You know full well that you can work out a payment plan with the State, so do it.”
However another commenter was more sympathetic, urging Menikou to sue his accountant for malpractice.
The Department of Finance and Taxation did not respond to calls for comment by the time of publication.
