Towards a holistic approach for tackling undeclared work in the Western Balkans: a self-assessment survey

In many economies, there is a fragmented and uncoordinated approach across the multifarious government bodies responsible for tackling undeclared work and a limited involvement of social partners, as well as an incomplete range of policy measures used. To resolve this, a holistic integrated strategic approach has been proposed. This is where governments: • Shift the objective from “reducing undeclared work” to “transforming undeclared work into declared work”; • Develop a whole government coordinated approach, and • Implement the full range of direct and indirect policy tools. The aim of this study is to provide a baseline assessment of the progress of enforcement authorities in the Western Balkans towards adopting a holistic approach. To assess this, a questionnaire survey was sent to the tax administrations and labour inspectorates in Albania [AL], Bosnia and Herzegovina [BA], Kosovo* [XK], Montenegro [ME], Republic of North Macedonia [MK] and Serbia [RS]. This report evaluates the self-reported progress made.