Public expectations and EU commitment on the fight against tax fraud

According to a new Eurobarometer survey of the European Parliament on ‘perceptions and expectations’, 75% of EU citizens surveyed would like the EU to intervene more in the fight against tax fraud, one of the areas with the strongest support for more EU involvement. The support for this in Portugal (91%), Spain (89%), Slovenia and Cyprus (86%) is overwhelming. The weakest support for more EU intervention is in Austria (52%) and Poland (56%), which nonetheless still represents the support of the majority. Two thirds of EU citizens evaluate the current EU action in the fight against fraud as insufficient; this contrasts with the limited EU competences in this area. There is a significant gap between the expectations of citizens for EU involvement and the current involvement in the fight against tax fraud.