Economic crime report 2004 - Ekobrottsmyndigheten

mentary evidence for verifying actual revenue, particularly in the case of
small businesses that lack financial management or internal monitoring
systems. Among other contributing factors may be the stiff competition
that businesses face and the labour shortages that arise during economic
booms.
The following table shows the results of an SKV survey (Report 1998:1)
in terms of the percentage of businesses in various sectors that feel that
some of their competitors evade taxes.
Table 1
Percentage of businesses by sector that believe that they are subject to unfair
competition
Sector
Construction 37%
Restaurant 38%
Taxi 31%
Trucking 43%
Cleaning 54%
Hairdressing 64%
A report issued by SKV’s nationwide project on undeclared labour indicates
that certain segments of the construction industry have incorporated
tax evasion in a way that may be described as the organized contracting
out of such workers. Various constellations of independent contractors
– subcontractors, staffing companies and intermediaries at a number of
different level – are used in order to aggravate SKV’s attempts to uncover
and investigate tax evasion schemes.
The phenomenon is not new in itself. Previous examinations of contracting
sectors have revealed widespread tax evasion that called for legislative
changes. Current statutes on private employment agencies and the contracting
out of labour, as well as the adoption and practical application of
business tax certificates, have made it even harder for SKV to do something
about this type of evasion.
The project has found widespread payment of undeclared wages in the
construction industry. The studies conducted so far, as well as the crime
rings that have been identified, suggest that such wages amount to SEK
2.5-3 billion annually in the areas covered by the project. While refraining
from estimating the extent of undeclared work in the industry as a whole,
the report stresses that it is clearly unsettling. As the result of uncollected
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