Every year, the European Union allows the equivalent of its budget to slip through its fingers in value-added tax (VAT) revenue, although a new study on the VAT gap, published by the European Commission on Thursday 28 September, shows a slight improvement in the collection of this indirect tax.
In 2015, the VAT, in other words the overall difference between anticipated VAT revenue and the amount actually received, stood at €158 billion.
The greatest VAT gaps were to be found in Romania (37.2%), Slovakia (29.4%) and Greece (28.3%). The smallest gaps were recorded in Spain (3.5%) and Croatia (3.9%). In absolute terms, the highest VAT gap was registered in Italy (€35 billion).
The VAT gap has shrunk in most member states, with the greatest improvements to be seen in Malta, Romania and Spain. Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Luxembourg, Finland and the United Kingdom actually saw their VAT gaps grow at national level.
Cross-border VAT fraud alone costs the member states €50 billion a year. The Commission anticipates that its forthcoming proposal, scheduled for next week, will reduce this fraud by 80%. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)