Economic crime report 2004 - Ekobrottsmyndigheten

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tion, normally at the retail level, does taxation come into play. Approved warehousers and registered consignees have the exclusive right to handle products under suspension. Table 4 Assessed selective taxes, 2003, SEK billion 2 Type of tax Energy 60.4 Environment 3.4 Alcohol and tobacco 19.2 Advertising 0.8 Lottery and gaming 1.2 Other 3.4 Total 88.3 Table 4 shows the taxes administered by the special tax office in Ludvika. Risk Areas The selective purchase tax is often many times greater than the value of the good itself. That is particularly the case of Sweden, where taxes are higher than in many other EU countries. As a result, there is a considerable danger of various types of evasion. Following is a discussion of the risks linked to alcohol, tobacco products and mineral oil. These taxes, which represent large revenues, are in the spotlight as the EU expands. Alcohol and Tobacco Following the establishment of a minimum tax on tobacco products by the EU, all current Member States impose a fairly high rate. Thus only a relatively small amount of tax evasion has been detected in trade among the various EU countries so far. Most evasion related to tobacco products stems from smuggling to and from non-EU countries, such as from and through the Baltic states. Swedish Customs is presently in charge of such matters. 2. 2003 annual <strong>report</strong> of SKV and the Enforcement Service. 20
The minimum tax rates on alcohol are extremely low by Swedish standards. Since the tax on alcohol differs considerably from country to country, consumer prices vary widely as well. The irregularities that have been <strong>report</strong>ed in the alcohol trade also occur in other areas. High tax rates and opportunities for a quick profit attract their share of spurious players. Besides smuggling from non-EU countries are various kinds of untaxed imports to Sweden from other Member States. The tax evasion ploys in which registered players participate is largely related to crossborder EU trade. Production costs, which are generally minor compared to the selective purchase tax, appear to be fairly uniform between Sweden and the other EU countries. That purchases are made abroad, incurring additional transport costs, is often due to such trade being more difficult to monitor. Worth noting is that these irregularities do not involve imports only, but also various sales schemes from Sweden. Mineral Oil The substantial rise in the selective purchase tax on heating oil in recent years has affected both the legal and illegal border trade, particularly between Finland and Sweden. Given that some approved users can acquire oil for certain tax-exempt purposes while paying zero or reduced tax, there are risk areas within Sweden also. The oil can subsequently be resold or used for purposes that are not tax-exempt. The same holds true of oil acquired for use in commercial navigation. Regulations surrounding the simultaneous production of electric power and district heating represent a special risk area. Complex and difficult to interpret, the regulations are constantly changing. Although only a few players are affected, the monetary consequences are considerable and the wording of the regulations has a major impact on the conditions to which such production is subject. Trends The number of registrants for the tax on alcohol is up sharply in recent years. In addition, the sector is suffering profitability problems. As a result, a considerable number of players are likely to face financial and tax difficulties in the future. Tax rates on heating oil and other fossil fuels are poised to rise further as a result of the green tax shift in Sweden. 21
Page 1 and 2: ECONOMIC CRIME REPORT Report no. 20
Page 3 and 4: Economic Crime Report
Page 5 and 6: Government Swedish Ministry of Just
Page 7: Economic Crime and Efforts to Comba
Page 10 and 11: Economic Crime - Current Status and
Page 12 and 13: Economic Consequences of Economic C
Page 14 and 15: Interagency Cooperation Measures Th
Page 16 and 17: Undeclared Work • Employers who h
Page 18 and 19: A CLOSER LOOK AT UNDECLARED WORK, V
Page 20 and 21: VAT Fraud There is always a risk th
Page 22 and 23: Trends Over the Next Three Years Fo
Page 24 and 25: Concluding Remarks The purpose of t
Page 27 and 28: Contents 1. Introduction 6 2. Curre
Page 29 and 30: 10.5 NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION PROJ
Page 31 and 32: Table 31 Number of decisions by oth
Page 33 and 34: 2. Current Status of Economic Crime
Page 35 and 36: detected offences are documented, a
Page 37 and 38: sentative of both commercial goods
Page 39 and 40: mentary evidence for verifying actu
Page 41 and 42: SKV put together documentation to l
Page 43 and 44: that a certain volume of uncollecte
Page 45: Table 3 Estimated tax error linked
Page 49 and 50: • Businesses, such as: - Tax plan
Page 51 and 52: According to the court of appeal, t
Page 53 and 54: loan prohibition, the Accounting Ac
Page 55 and 56: 4. It has a definite focus, though
Page 57: “A number of groups are engaged i
Page 60 and 61: Council and its task force have con
Page 62 and 63: Special joint consultation groups f
Page 64 and 65: 4. Intelligence and Monitoring Oper
Page 66 and 67: The total money involved in transac
Page 68 and 69: Intelligence Operations of Tax Crim
Page 70 and 71: Graph 13 Number of audits, 2000-200
Page 72 and 73: 2002 to 2003. The sums involved in
Page 74 and 75: Money Laundering, etc. A newly esta
Page 76 and 77: Since the project started on 1 Apri
Page 78 and 79: Manipulated cash registers are the
Page 80 and 81: professional criminals to one degre
Page 82 and 83: official figures. In the autumn of
Page 84 and 85: ookkeeping offences continued to ac
Page 86 and 87: Graph 25b Total number of reports o
Page 88 and 89: Graph 26 Cases received, 1998-2003
Page 90 and 91: Table 30 Number of decisions by EBM
Page 92 and 93: Graph 34 Average throughput time fo
Page 94 and 95: 6.5 TAX CRIME UNITS Expansion of ta
Page 96 and 97:
Graph 38 Trading prohibitions, 1998
Page 98 and 99:
9. Attachment, Collection, etc. The
Page 100 and 101:
Graph 43 Unpaid taxes and fees (SEK
Page 102 and 103:
Since a coordinated effort to recov
Page 104 and 105:
According to the proposals, the age
Page 106 and 107:
and employers concerning registrati
Page 108 and 109:
suggest that attitudes are continui
Page 110 and 111:
84 • a regional informational pro
Page 112 and 113:
12. International Contact and Coope
Page 114 and 115:
13. Skills and Methods Development
Page 116 and 117:
Since the autumn of 2002, EBM has c
Page 118 and 119:
nesses under their control, grant l
Page 120 and 121:
social insurance offices could prev
Page 122 and 123:
15 Problem Areas and Future Threats
Page 124 and 125:
• higher unemployment • distort
Page 126 and 127:
15.3 UNDECLARED WORK IN CASH SECTOR
Page 128 and 129:
EBM’s pilot project on measures f
Page 130 and 131:
15.5 AGENTS WHO AID ECONOMIC CRIME
Page 132 and 133:
ied out indicate that most transact
Page 134 and 135:
Appendix 1 CHANGES PROPOSED BY SAME
Page 136 and 137:
SKV • SKV should have limited aut
Page 138 and 139:
Transport Workers’ Union VAT Info
Page 140:
Reported economic crimes have incre
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