Article: Split Payment Mechanism as a VAT Collection Method: Evidence from Poland

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the activity of states and international organizations (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), EU) when it comes to solutions that prevent tax frauds and limit tax evasion. The split payment is one of the mechanisms in the field of value added tax. In the European Union, this solution is still used to an extremely limited extent, in only a few Member States. This article analyses the effects of a big-scale implementation of the Split Payment Mechanism in Poland from the perspective of application of tax principles (primarily in the form of reducing the Value Added Tax (VAT) gap) as well as the compliance costs to this model of settling the value added tax. The aim of this article is to ascertain whether the split payment (SP) Mechanism is an effective tool to counteract VAT fraud and whether it can be recommended as a systemic tax solution in the European Union. EU VAT system, split payment, VAT Collection, Tax gap, VAT fraud, Poland, European Commission, bank transfers, VAT account, financial liquidity.