Persistent VAT gap of 26% brings range of digital recommendations
The Bank of Greece has put forward a range of proposal to tackle the Greece’s VAT gap, the measure of actual tax receipts versus expected, is one of the highest in the EU at 25.8%, €5.4 billion.
Measures the central bank has put forward include:
- Mandatory use of electronic payments for retail outlets
- Automated VAT credit repayments, without manual approvals, to build trust in the VAT process
- Eliminating special VAT reduced rates in holiday locations
- Adoption of Artificial Intelligence, blockchain and similar cutting-edge technologies to identify VAT fraud
- Further adoption of electronic invoicing, building on the myDATA e-invoice and e-bookkeeping reforms
- Strengthening administrative cooperation in the field of VAT between the tax authorities of the EU Member States
The EU VAT Gap initiative will be launched later this year by the European Commission to help tax authorities share best practices.
EU VAT digital reporting
EU VAT in the Digital Age reforms include a channel for harmonised Digital Reporting Requirements (DRR) and Continuous Transaction Controls (CTC) by EU states. This grew from the 2020 EU Tax Action Plan proposals for a fairer and more efficient EU tax regime.
