Greece sacks tax chief during EU-IMF audit

(ATHENS) - Greece on Thursday sacked its tax chief, who is under judicial investigation, during an ongoing audit by EU-IMF creditors.

"The cabinet has unanimously approved the finance minister's recommendation that general secretary for public revenue (Katerina) Savvaidou be removed from her duties," government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili said.

Savvaidou is under judicial investigation in two separate cases.

She is criticised for giving TV stations more time to pay advertising tax, and for ordering a review of a 78-million-euro ($89 million) fine on a company accused of usury.

In a letter to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras this week, Savvaidou had rejected pressure to resign and said the accusations against her were "baseless".

The position of finance ministry general secretary was set up in 2012 but although holders are nominally appointed for five years, the office has had a rocky start.

A former senior manager at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Savvaidou is the second tax chief to be sacked in a year.

Her predecessor Haris Theocharis was forced to resign in June 2014, causing a rift in relations between the then conservative government and the country's creditors.

Theocharis reportedly went after issuing tax circulars that hurt the then conservative government ahead of European elections.