UK Electronic Sales Suppression Crackdown Shows What Not to Do

Electronic sales suppression—business use of software to falsely change the value of a transaction on a digital record—might be the most effective form of tax fraud that people aren’t aware of.

A five-year probe in 2021 found electronic sales suppression, or ESS, devices in one-fifth of California restaurants. As early as 2003, Germany reported yearly tax revenue losses from ESS in the billions of euros, and there’s no indication ESS has diminished since then.

In November 2022, the UK issued guidance FS68, outlining a “come clean” program for ESS users to fess up or face steep penalties—while ...