Czech state loses up to Kc30bn a year due to tax evasion

Frauds related to VAT account for Kc10bn to Kc15bn of the total amount of evaded tax, and frauds related to fuels account for Kc5bn to Kc8bn, Knizek said.

Apart from VAT and fuel frauds, financial directorates are also newly seeing a growth in frauds related to timber imports.

"The figure (of total tax evasion) is difficult to estimate. Nobody knows it exactly and it remains to be answered what you label as tax evasion," Knizek said commenting on the estimates.

It depends on whether taxpayers' steps on the verge of law, when their activity cannot be strictly labeled as tax evasion, are included in it, Knizek said.

Financial directorates have ordered additional payment of taxes worth more than Kc14.5bn since 2009, mostly in trade with fuels.

Each year the directorates order additional tax payments of around Kc5bn to Kc6bn, Knizek said, adding fuels make up 50 to 60 percent of the amount.

Knizek said earlier financial authorities managed to collect much less in reality - hundreds of millions of crowns.

Author: ČTK
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