Swedes think 'Working black' is OK

A rising number of Swedes think it is acceptable to work cash-in-hand, without declaring your income to the tax authority, a new survey has shown.

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The survey, carried out by the Swedish Tax Authority, showed that 15 percent of people believe that it is OK to 'work black' - in other words to not declare your income to the state. Two percent more people took this view in the latest survey than in 2004.

Undeclared work deprives Sweden's national coffers of around 120 billion kronor a year in lost tax revenue, the authority estimates.

Many people believe that black market work is a minor transgression and not a form of tax evasion.

"It is worrying that an increasing number of people appear to accept black market work. It is clear that we need to step up our efforts to prevent cash-in-hand work and tax evasion," said Jan-Erik Bäckman, chief analyst at the Swedish Tax Authority.

The survey also showed that 63 percent of Swedes believe it is easy to make a tax declaration, and 46 percent have confidence in the tax authority.

The survey was sent to 8,000 people chosen at random, of which 3,900 replied.