TACKLING VAT FRAUD

The European Commission has been charged with the task of coming up with proposals for tackling VAT fraud that can be implemented by the end of next year. EU ministers last week asked the Commission to come up with specific proposals to allow easier sharing of information between enforcement agencies and to beat intra-EU scams such as carousel or missing trader fraud, where goods are moved through the EU in a chain of transactions, allowing VAT to be reclaimed on each one. The Commission estimates that member states are losing as much as 2.5% of their gross domestic product as a result of VAT fraud.