International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde says that all austerity-hit Greeks should help to improve their country's financial situation by paying their taxes. "I think they Greeks should also help themselves collectively...by all paying their tax," IMF chief Christine Lagarde said during an interview with The Guardian. Lagarde also said that the IMF does not plan on altering its stance towards Greece's bailout package and austerity measures imposed against the country. "As far as Athens is concerned, I also think about all those people who are trying to escape tax all the time," the IMF chief said, adding that she felt equally about deprived Greeks and those who did not pay tax. On May 6, the country's parliamentary elections failed to give any of the participating parties an absolute majority. The political crisis has shaken financial markets and pushed experts into questioning the country's ability to stay in the euro zone. The country has been the epicenter of the euro zone debt crisis and is experiencing its fifth year of recession. One fifth of Greek workers are unemployed, banks have become shaky, and pensions and salaries have been slashed by up to 40 percent. Greece could go bankrupt by the end of June if international lenders refuse to prop the country up with a EUR-130-billion bailout fund to keep it afloat and inside the euro zone. There are growing fears that the country might exit the euro zone. Greeks are outraged at two years of harsh austerity measures, which have been imposed in return for financial assistance.
