The basic objective of the paper will be to highlight the attempts to reduce the size of the tax gap undertaken by Poland’s fiscal authorities in the recent years. The paper will focus on measures aimed at curbing shadow economy activities and tax evasion (including VAT extortion). The aim of the paper will be also to shed some light on the causes of VAT-related fraud as well as other forms of tax evasion and their social and economic implications. It will address whether measures aimed at reducing the tax gap and shadow economy adopted by the Polish fiscal authorities in the recent years have produced expected results and which are most effective. It will also take into account the measures that should be undertaken to foster reducing the tax gap and curbing the shadow economy.
The author will use diverse data sources including the latest available research findings, government data, think tank reports and other sources. Some of the sources include the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economic Development, and Main Customs Office. The author would like also to draw upon the findings of a project focused on combating the shadow economy conducted under the auspices of the UN Global Compact Program and Polish Ministry of Finance. Finally, the author would also like to present and comment on the findings of his own questionnaire and selected topic-related findings of new empirical research conducted in recent years.
The paper will provide an empirical insight into tax evasion activities in Poland, leading to the emergence and expansion of the tax gap. The paper will highlight different policy measures aimed at curbing the shadow economy and tax evasion in Poland and thus reducing the tax gap. The author will try to identify factors conducive to the development of different forms of tax evasion as well as their economic and social implications. In the final section of the paper the author would like to discuss possible policy options referring to curtailment of the shadow economy and tax evasion activities in Poland taking into account the measures proposed recently by Polish fiscal authorities.