AK demands action plan – tax fraud, blunder: State loses 15 billion euros

Tax evasion, “botch” or “creative” constructions – all this leads to loss of revenue for the state. According to studies, this “tax gap” amounts to some 12 to 15 billion euros per year, which corresponds to 6.5 to 8.5 percent of all taxes and duties in the country. The AK therefore calls for more efforts to narrow the gap.

What other countries are doing about it?
Some countries, such as Great Britain or the US, let their financial authorities determine the extent of the losses themselves. “You should also do that in Austria, tax fraud has many faces,” says AK expert Dominik Bernhofer.

There are estimates from economic researchers or the EU of how high the losses are for individual taxes: for example, for Austria they have identified a “gap” of 2.9 billion euros in sales tax in 2021.

Many ways to cheat
But there are many ways of fraud: in undeclared work, the state evades not only sales and income taxes, but also social security contributions for the employees. Outsourcing activities to tax havens is undesirable, but not always illegal. Recently, progress has been made here through the international exchange of information or the breaking of banking secrecy in tax procedures.

Bernhofer proposes a “national action plan” against tax fraud and tricks. “It’s a matter of fairness to all taxpayers.” There should be more staff for tax audits, so tax inspectors in Munich have twice as many staff as in Austria. The length of procedures in financial criminal law should be shortened and legislation simplified.