It's small 'mom and pop' businesses that cheat the taxman most.

As taxpayers wait for their 2011 statements to pop through the letter box, Director of the Inland Revenue, Rasmus Bo Andersen, said very few private citizens are facing a demand for back taxes, only companies or firms - and generally small ones. A recent survey showed that 50 per cent of all businesses make mistakes on their tax returns and, according to Mr Andersen, in 10 per cent of all cases it's a definite attempt to cheat the state.

"Smaller businesses often aren't able to differentiate between private and business expenditure," he said. "It could be a mobile phone subscription, a restaurant meal with the wife, or mistakes with VAT."

At the same time, new Tax Ministry figures show that more and more people are 'snitching' on fellow citizens who 'moonlight' (work for low paye with no tax paid).

The Inland Revenue collected an extra DKK120m last year as a result of 6,843 anonymous reports of people working 'off the books', 26 per cent more than the previous year and a sign, according to Minister of Taxation Thor Mögens Pedersen, that most people today believe it's wrong to cheat the state.

Tax consultant Jan P. Jensen said there’s been a change of attitude amongst the population. "It's a bit like drunk driving," he said. "People accepted it 20 years ago but not today. It's unacceptable, and that's how people regard moonlighting."