BRUSSELS: The Special Taxation Inspectorate (BBI) recovered fewer funds from measures against large-scale fiscal fraud in 2015 than was the case in 2014. Last year 969.6 million euro was recovered, down from 1.426 billion euro in 2014. The figures appear in an article in Saturday’s edition of the financial daily ‘De Tijd’. In 2015 BBI demanded an average of 566,000 euro per fraud case. This is well down on the 900,000 euro demanded in 2014. In 2012 and 2013 it was even twice that demanded last year.
However, the top civil servant at the Finance Department Francis Adyns says that this doesn’t mean that the Special Taxation Inspectorate worked less efficiently in 2015.
“The results are a lot less, but they should be put into context. You can measure efficiency based on the amount the BBI recovers though sanctioning. Stopping fraud before it happens is also part of our core business.
Furthermore some cases are also dealt with by other departments or the courts which means that the amount recouped by the Special Taxation Inspectorate can end up being lower.
“New staff will only be productive after year”
Although the BBI has been given extra staff, the BBI’s Frank Philipsen says in an interview with De Tijd that it could be years before the newcomers are productive. This is because the BBI’s work is highly specialised.
However, better results are expected in 2016, not least because the BBI discovered a large-scale fraud with withholding tax at the end of last year.
