Anna Kowal-Pawul

Institute of Economics and Finance, University of Rzeszow,

Poland

annakowal@ur.edu.pl

ORCID 0000-0003-3303-0348

Importance of VAT digitization for income disclosure in section F-construction - a case for Poland

Grzegorz Przekota

Faculty of Economic Sciences, Koszalin University of Technology,

Poland

grzegorz.przekota@tu.koszalin.pl

ORCID 0000-0002-9173-2658 

Abstract. The ongoing digital transformation is visible in the tax world. In Poland, the process that began in 2016 is defined by the authors as the VAT digitization process. The solutions introduced by the legislator have primarily been aimed at curbing tax evasion and at authorizing efficient audit and as a result, tightening of VAT tax system. The purpose of the paper is, thus, to highlight the importance of VAT digitization in disclosing income in section-F of the economy – construction and in section-G – wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, including motorcycles. There are several reasons these sectors were chosen. In 2016, the Ministry of Finance indicated that the construction industry was characterized by a high risk of tax fraud (making it a so-called sensitive industry). The same year, construction, along with trade, became the sectors affected most by the shadow economy. The conclusion was based on the observation of the construction sector value added in the period of 2017-2019 set against the previous period of 1995-2016 and compared with the trade value added in 1995 2016 and 2017-2019 respectively. The study has found a visible value-added increase, which was reasonably greater than what would have resulted from the economic boom, proving that the income which has so far been subject to tax fraud has been duly demonstrated. Research hypothesis, VAT digitization has a greater impact on disclosing income in section F than in section G, has been positively verified.

Received: October, 2020

1st Revision: September, 2021

Accepted: December, 2021

DOI: 10.14254/2071-8330.2021/14-4/5

JEL Classification: H26, H32, H87, M21, M48, O23

Keywords: VAT digitization, tax gap, split payment mechanism, Standard Audit File for Tax, STIR