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.
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12 Comments
According to DNA Info’s article, the owner of Euro Market says the Gofundme campaign was set up by someone else and that he has nothing to do with it because he’s “not a beggar”.
“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.”
You Made the money now pay up! Stop giving yourself a bad name.
I hope they know that they will be liable for the taxes on any income they get from the GoFundMe endeavor too.
My understanding from the earlier article is that EuroMart didn’t pay the sales tax it collected, which in my mind is a kind of theft. If that was correct, then it’s appalling to raise funds from the same customers!
I think the store will either pay up or make as much money as it can and then file bankruptcy. What I find odd is the amount they owe. I am sure it took years for them to owe so much. I am sure notices and calls from the city were made prior to the city closing and seizing it. This market caters to a particular customer and there are many similar markets with similar products throughout Astoria. There are so many other more important things people can donate too. If this place has been here for 35 years It would of been nice for the owners to comment on how they donated and helped out the community other than selling goods which in my opinion are pricey.
The owner’s picture is in the GoFundMe page.
The European trash market stoled 2 million dollers from the poor tax payers and there pictures are not in the paper like the people of color. I witness only the people of.color pictures get put in for ‘allegledly’ not convincetd of crimes. These (shhh white!) criminals pictures are kept quiet. Why because there white!!!! Sure. They confess already and are begging for money to pay off there stolen money back to NYC. They don’t deny nothing. No pictures. explain why. Yes we need that money for the new Muslim brothers and African dispora of astoria from queensbridge up to astoria which is rightfuly ours. Section 8 is part of the historic repeatreation of our dominant living.
Curtis please tell your dad to wear a condom. So should you. SMH.
tear it down and make it a section 8 building for curtis west and his friends and family .
hahahhahaha, you are right !
This is a business, you are down 200 thousand why should we help you?
This is a business, you are down 200 thousand why should we help you?
Lol giving us Greeks a bad name, pay up and move on.