Minister of Finance Mali: Digitalization is Key in the Fight Against the Shadow Economy
Thanks to the digitalization of the system and greater public awareness of the importance of collecting fiscal receipts, Serbia has made significant progress in combating the shadow economy in recent years, said Minister of Finance Siniša Mali on the occasion of the fifth and final draw of this round of the “Take a Receipt and Win 2025” prize game.
As he emphasized, this prize game best demonstrates how the digital system works in practice.
"Everything is electronic and digitalized, which allows for better control by the Tax Administration and significantly reduces the space for the shadow economy. In Serbia, we no longer have paper invoices—only eInvoices—which further contributes to transparency and efficiency," said Mali.
The minister announced that, in the coming weeks, the public will be presented with the new Program for Suppression of the Shadow Economy until 2030 and the Action Plan for the period 2026–2030, with clearly defined goals and measures. He stated that the aim is to continue the systemic fight against the shadow economy.
He reminded that numerous measures have been implemented in the previous period, forming together a “large puzzle” in the fight against the shadow economy—from the eInspector system and tax solutions for freelancers to the portal for registering seasonal workers in agriculture.
"Year by year, we reduce the tax burden on wages, increase the non-taxable income threshold, and thereby reduce the need for work in the informal sector. Today, the burden amounts to 57.7%, while in 2018/19 it was as high as 63–64%," he said.
The minister emphasized that the “Take a Receipt and Win” prize game has significantly contributed to raising citizens’ awareness of the importance of taking fiscal receipts.
"So far, more than one million adult citizens of Serbia have participated in the prize game, and over one billion receipts have been submitted to the database. This is a great success and proof of how motivated citizens are to take part in the fight against the shadow economy," Mali concluded.
You can watch the recording of the fifth draw of the “Take a Receipt and Win 2025” prize game below:
