Tax avoidance and tax evasion in the European Union currently amount to up to 200 billion euros, according to conservative estimates.

Omissions

• The 'up to €200 billion' figure is not published as a single official Eurostat/European Commission total; it aggregates component estimates (VAT gap, CIT gap, individual tax evasion) with different methodologies and reference periods.
• Published estimates for EU tax evasion/avoidance vary widely by definition and scope: the EU Tax Observatory estimates international evasion by individuals at only ~€46 billion/year (EU-28, 2004–2016), while broader 'tax abuse' estimates (e.g., Richard Murphy) range up to €750–900 billion — so €200 billion sits at the conservative end, as the MEP states.
• Most recent data used here are from 2023 (VAT compliance gap, €128 billion) and the December 2025 Commission report on tax gaps; no data describing periods after the July 2026 session date was used.
• The €46 billion individual-evasion figure dates from the 2004–2016 period, so it is older than the other components.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission – Taxation and Customs Union, VAT Gap pageIn 2023, total VAT revenue amounted to €1 223 billion in the EU. The VAT compliance gap was estimated at €128 billion or 9.5% of the VAT total (2023 reference year).
• PrimaryEuropean Commission – Taxation and Customs Union, news release on 2025 tax gaps reportThe 2025 report offers fresh VAT compliance gap estimates, a more detailed breakdown of the VAT policy gap, and, for the first time, coverage of the corporate income tax gap: estimates indicate an average CIT compliance gap of almost 11% of collected CIT revenues across 23 EU states.
• PrimaryEU Tax Observatory – Estimating International Tax Evasion by IndividualsThe average yearly revenue lost to international tax evasion for the EU-28 over the period 2004-2016 is estimated at EUR 46 billion, or approximately 0.46% of GDP.