One in Three Citizens Cannot Recognize a Valid Fiscal Receipt

Almost one in three citizens of Serbia cannot recognize a valid fiscal receipt, with 59% of citizens making all payments exclusively with cash, thus ‘feeding’ the shadow economy. The data from NALED’s research indicates the need for continuous education and encouragement of citizens to contribute to its suppression with responsible shopping behavior.

"Citizens’ support to the countering of shadow zone is still very high and reaches 90%. Two-thirds believe that business outside the law is not justified, and even half of the citizens believe that declaring 2017 and 2018 the years of countering shadow economy will help in their reduction. However, there is still a problem of participating in this battle, as only 22% are willing to report a shop or a café where they have not received a receipt, while 33% would report employers who hire unregistered workers. Some of them are among 27% of workers who admit that they accept part or all of their salary in cash ", said Vladimir Tipsarevic, Vice President of NALED’s Fair Competition Alliance, at the presentation of the survey.

Compared to February 2017, there was a rise in the share of citizens assured that the country is determined to suppress the grey zone (from 60 to 64%) and those convinced the shadow economy has been reduced in the past year (from 48 to 51%), but lack of interest, avoidance of uncomfortable situations and the fear of losing work are still the most common reasons why they do not participate in the fight against the grey zone.

"NALED's business and citizens opinion survey, performed in partnership with German Development Cooperation within the project "Supporting the Government of Serbia in Countering Shadow Economy", gives an insight into the effects of the Government's National Program for Countering Shadow Economy and educational campaigns. The data will also be important for creating a new analysis of the scope of shadow economy in Serbia, and by the end of the year we will know how much progress has been made," said Birger Nerré, Senior Project Manager of the German Development Cooperation’s Public Finance Reform project.

The good news is the growth of the number of citizens who recognize that issuing a receipt is the seller’s legal obligation and a confirmation of paid tax, and this is the main motive why the receipt is being required. The "Get the Receipt to Win" prize competition contributed to this, with 37% of the population participating, exceeding all expectations being four times more successful than the lottery in Slovakia. At this moment, 35% of citizens would participate in the second cycle, which is expected in early 2018, while 27% have not yet decided.

In addition to raising awareness about the importance of taking receipts, NALED emphasizes the importance of cashless payments that enable transactions to be recorded and visible to tax authorities even when the receipt is not issued. This is why the Ministry of Finance, with the support of the Mastercard and SoGe Bank, launched the Student Cash Challenge 2017 contest for the best ideas for developing a cashless society (information on uzmiracun.rs/cashlesscase).

A survey conducted by Ipsos Strategic Marketing for NALED has shown that citizens are well aware of the shadow economy, also showing that its most common form refers to unregistered labor. Almost a quarter (22%) do not know which institution is in charge in handling shadow economy, while 29% say that it is the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Administration. According to the survey, the goods that are most often bought on the farmer’s and street markets are coffee, tobacco and food.