August 1 (SeeNews) - The grey economy accounts for 20.6% of Montenegro's GDP in the current year, the country's finance ministry said.
The results of research carried out by IPSOS, the global leader in market research, show that the share of the grey economy in Montenegro's economic output has decreased by 3.9 percentage points, compared to 2014, the finance ministry said in a statement on Friday.
However, even though only registered companies and entrepreneurs were surveyed, the survey shows that almost every tenth business entity in Montenegro is engaged in grey economy activities, according to the admissions of managers, the finance ministry noted.
On the plus side, the results show a significant drop in unregistered employment, decreasing to 15.7% from 22.3% in 2014. However, the share of employees who receive part of their earnings in cash without paying taxes and contributions has remained at the same level.
The ministry notes that this research substantiated the claims that the grey economy is still highly present in Montenegro, confirming that there is a serious tax potential in the regulation of taxation of risky areas and the expansion of the tax scope.