Finance Tonio Fenech has said the government was determined to continue with its measures aimed at gradually reining in tax evasion.
In recent years the government had pursued such measures in practical ways, such as through schemes aimed at bringing the black economy to the surface and helping it to join the formal economy.
The minister also quoted a European Commission report on tax reforms in member states showing that there were many reasons for the black economy. Many times it occurred because of institutional, cultural and economic factors and the ways in which parts of society have got used to carrying out their business.
The minister was answering a parliamentary question by Labour MP Leo Brincat.