2015-2017 Strategic Plan to Combat Tax Fraud | Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations

Date: 13/02/2015

Published by: Ms. Simoes Viegas Maria Isabel

The Secretary of State for Fiscal Affairs approved the new Strategic Plan to Combat Tax and Customs Fraud and Evasion for the period of 2015 - 2017. This Strategic Plan has been published on the Website of the Portuguese Government.

This Strategic Plan includes a list of 40 priority measures to combat tax fraud and evasion and the black economy which will be implemented in 2015. These measures are based on the strengthening of data cross-checking, using new technologies, and are crucial to ensure a fairer distribution of the tax effort and punish more effectively the fraudulent practices of tax non-compliance.

These measures are organized into five main areas:

i) Control measures for the obligation to issue and communicate invoices;

ii) VAT control measures;

iii) PIT and CIT control measures;

iv) Control measures of the obligation to deliver withholding tax and;

v) Cross-cutting control measures.

In all cases, we are handling with integrated measures, with an informative phase, an interactive phase to promote compliance and voluntary settlement, always followed by the inspective, punitive and coercive phases which ensure the full effectiveness of the system even in cases of persistent non-compliance.

All listed measures will be implemented in an electronic platform, operating autonomously. All information will be made available and shared by AT with the taxpayers involved, giving priority to voluntary settlement, reserving AT's intervention to its authority functions, in cases of persistent non-compliance.

Finally, the implementation rate of previous Strategic Plan to Combat Tax and Customs Fraud and Evasion for the period of 2012-2014 was of 95%, which contributed decisively to overcome the annual objectives of tax revenue, particularly during 2013 and 2014.