Pandemic destroying years of sealing Polish tax system: EC
21:01
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the VAT gap in Poland may increase to 14.6 percent, estimates the European Commission.
For comparison, in 2018 the VAT hole reached the level of 9.9 percent and amounted to exactly €4.45 billion, according to the recently published EC report. The result achieved by Poland in 2018 was slightly higher than the median recorded for the 28 analyzed EU countries (including the United Kingdom) and amounting to 9.2 percent.
In terms of percentage, we were 17th in terms of the size of the VAT gap in the European Union (according to data for 2018). The places directly in front of us were taken by Portugal, Latvia and Austria. We were ahead of, among others Belgium, Ireland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
The total loss resulting from the VAT hole in the entire European Union is expected to amount to €164 billion (compared to €140 billion in 2018). Poland will also suffer as a result – the gap in our country is to increase back to 14.6 percent, which may thwart the efforts of several years of sealing the system.
