Specially formed action team handed over the 200-page report on the tax gap caused by tax evasion to the Austrian Government Officials. Report emphasises the scope of frauds carried out on cash registers and suggests standardisation of invoicing systems to fight shadow economy.
This practice, which is now exercised in most developed economies, requires such detailed report to serve Ministry as a launching pad for tax reforms. Given the arguments made here, politicians are left with no options to oppose, Austria is on its way to fiscalization.
The chamber of commerce argues that standardisation of invoicing systems (upgrade of POS) will cost businesses more then 300 million euros!? I couldn’t find which industry sector they targeted in this calculation, but according to 2012 census there are 620523 enterprises in Austria. If everybody are counted in then average is about 450 euros per upgrade. That’s not a high cost for Austrian economy, giving the fact that businesses in African countries (where obliged to use fiscal cash registers) pay from 400 to 1500 euros. But even 450 euros is a high estimate in the first place, given the fact that report favours INSIKA solution, which is advertised by PTB-Bericht Informationstechnik as a ten-euro per smart card upgrade if POS is compatible, which is not a science fiction to be.
Other systems, besides Insika, are evaluated by the authors in this report, however industry experts may argue that some of them are underrated probably due to the lack of information they had available.
The report can be downloaded here, and for those who do not understand german language you may find graphics and tables quite comprehensive.
