László Kovács, the member of the European Commission responsible for taxation, said member states need to make "a more common and coordinated approach at EU level" to combat tax fraud, as he launched a debate to combat the problem. Analysts think that tax fraud costs about €200 billion ($259 billion) to €250 billion in lost revenue, up to 2.5% of the total EU budget. Kovács is particularly concerned about VAT fraud, which alone accounts for about €60 billion. "The Commission proposes a new Community approach to administrative cooperation with third countries and is prepared to engage in a broad discussion on the need to modify VAT systems, " according to the statement launching the debate.
June 04 2006