As many as 87 percent of respondents in Croatia said that the government should crack down on the grey economy, while 77 percent said that the public should support government efforts to that effect.
The survey was carried out in ten Central and Eastern European countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. In nine countries the survey was conducted online on a representative sample of people aged 15-64, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina an omnibus survey was carried out on a sample of 1,000 people.
In Croatia, 90% of respondents said they are aware that tax evasion is a crime. However, 28% said tax evasion is justified because taxes are too high, and 34% said that in order for a business to be successful it is essential not to report at least part of the income.
A majority of respondents (74%) said they understand that because of the grey economy there is less money left for public services such as education, healthcare or road infrastructure. Slightly over 70% said that concealing revenues from the tax authorities has a negative effect on economic growth, and 79% said they are aware the grey economy leads to unfair competition.
The survey reveals that Croatians are sceptical about the impact of an average citizen on the grey economy, while two-thirds agree that they should join the fight against it, limiting the possibility of traders concealing their revenues.
Most of citizens (84%) said that one way they themselves can limit the grey economy is to demand receipts for products or services. Two-thirds believe they can limit it by avoiding to spend money in outlets that do not have fiscal cash registers, while half of the respondents see debit and credit cards as an effective way of curbing the grey economy. By comparison, in Hungary only 13% of respondents said that payments by credit or debit card reduce the grey economy, which is the lowest score among the countries where the survey was carried out.
The survey also shows that consumers, once they realise that in that way they can reduce the grey economy, are ready to change their habits and pay by debit or credit card more often. Nearly 80% of respondents across the region expressed their readiness to make payments electronically more often -- from 60% in Slovenia, 71% in Croatia to 85% in Romania.