Logo Polskiego Radia

Supreme Audit Office slams FinMin for not combatting tax fraud

PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp 14.05.2014 12:53
A new report released by Poland’s Supreme Audit Office (NIK) blasts Poland’s tax offices for failing to combat fraud in 2011-2013.

Photo:
Photo: flick/cc/money pictures

A document published by NIK on Wednesday reveals that VAT from goods and services in 2011-2013 amounted to an average of 42 percent of budget revenue.

However, “in the same period, revenue dropped by over 6 percent, equalling 7.4 billion zloty (1.8 billion euro),” the NIK report states.

“In 2011 the amount lost from unpaid VAT revealed by authorities subordinate to the Finance Ministry were somwhat over 2.5 billion zloty, while in 2012 that figure was over 4 billion zloty and only in the first half of 2013 it amounted to almost 3.2 billion zloty,” the report calculates.

The report believes that the loss in revenue is due to increasing tax fraud on the basis of unpaid VAT duty on goods imported from other countries in the EU, as well as VAT receipts bearing fictional transactions as well as bogus VAT returns.

NIK underlined in the report that tax fraud can only be combatted once the mechanism by which the fraud is committed is identified, and that the tax authorities move swiftly to charge offenders.

NIK also recommended closer international cooperation with tax authorities in other countries.

Despite the problem, NIK did acknowledge that efforts had been made by the Finance Ministry to minimise the scale of tax fraud hapenning in Poland. (jb)

Source: PAP

Print
Copyright © Polskie Radio S.A About Us Contact Us