A European Commission report on tax reforms in member states has shown there are many reasons for the black economy.
Many times it occurs becasuse of institutional, cultural and economic factors and the ways in which parts of society have got used to carrying out their business.
Answering a parliamentary question by Labour MP Leo Brincat, Finance and Economy Minister Tonio Fenech said the government was determined to continue with its measures aimed at gradually reining in tax evasion.
In recent years the government had pursued these 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.