Evaluation of Digital Shadow Economy Prevention Measures

Although during the past few years the scopes of shadow economy in Lithuania have slightly decreased, different forms of this phenomenon, in particular digital shadow activities, still generate a significant part of the overall value added. As no constant estimations of the scope of digital shadow economy have been made in Lithuania, alleviation of this problem is based on consequence fighting rather than reason elimination. Digital shadow economy poses a significant challenge for law enforcement agencies concerning its investigation and prevention. Hence, it is purposeful to research both theoretical and practical aspects of digital shadow economy prevention in order to identify the measures that could be used for the efficient reduction of the scope of this phenomenon. The aim of this research is to identify the measures of digital shadow economy prevention and compare the attitudes of governmental institutions and consumers towards the efficiency of these measures. The results of the empirical research showed that both consumers and experts agree that the level of tax morale has to be raised not only by using the measures of self-education but also by introducing long-term educational programmes; second, public authorities should ensure business friendly environment, actively implement the principles of justice and officially acknowledge and announce the concept of digital shadow economy; finally, for more efficient detection of the cases of digital shadow activities, it is necessary to reinforce current labour resources that should be specially trained to be able to disclose revenue hiding and tax evasion schemes, employed in e-trade.