Shadow economy in Slovakia shrinking

The volume of the shadow economy in Slovakia is slowly coming down. Since 2008, the shadow economy fell from 16 percent of GDP (10.4 billion euro) to the current 15 percent, translating into approximately 11 billion euro. These are the results of a study commissioned by Visa Europe and elaborated by Professor Friedrich Schneider of the University of Linz in cooperation with the consulting company A.T. Kearney at the end of 2014. A decline in the shadow economy, even though a modest one, has been apparent in Slovakia since 2010. "The shadow economy is mainly the economy of cash that enables anonymous transactions, which cannot be traced back. A reliable way to curb it is to increase the number of electronic transactions and boost the acceptance of payment cards also in sectors such as, for instance, retail or crafts, where the shadow economy unfolds the most," Visa Europe regional manager for the Czech Republic and Slovakia Marcel Gajdoš said.