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Minister of Agriculture and Environment Dejan Židan, who coordinates the combat against the shadow economy at the government level, told Friday's press conference the scope of the grey economy was estimated at between EUR 8bn and EUR 10bn and that the public purses lost EUR 100m for each "grey" billion.

By combating the shadow economy, the minister said Slovenia wanted to join the group of countries where failure to pay taxes is considered morally wrong. The combat entails not only legislative changes and tightened control, but also the efforts to raise public awareness and change people's mindset.

"We want everyone in Slovenia to understand the combat against grey economy as a joint effort, because the grey economy is undermining our safety in old age, safety in youth, a safe and functioning health system. This is why the fight against the grey economy stands for a better life in this country," Židan said.

The campaign involves advertising on billboards, TV and social networks, where profiles will be set up to encourage active response from citizens. A special web site has been set up that provides comprehensive information about the shadow economy, head of the Government Communication Office Boštjan Lajovic said.

Commenting in the government's measures against tax evasion so far, Židan said EUR 240m in VAT had been collected in September following the launch of software for cash registers that prevents invoice deleting, which he said was EUR 37m more than planned and EUR 31m more than in the same period last year.

But the minister also said that it was not possible to say yet whether the increase was due to more effective tax collection or a raise in VAT rates in July. He said the hospitality sector paid 18-19% more in tax than last year.

Since the launch of the software for cash registers in July, the Tax Administration (DURS) has carried out over 4,000 inspections, DURS director Jana Ahčin said, thanking citizens for their cooperation as the number of reports doubled compared to recent years.

This week tax inspectors have focused on bar and restaurant establishments, shutting down several of them for inspection, which Ahčin said would continue but would not get as much media attention as so far and would become "ordinary work of the tax administration".

DURS cannot be as efficient in other lines of business such as law firms and dental offices, where the use of registers is not obligatory. The Market Inspectorate therefore proposed banning invoicing by means of receipt books, which can be bought everywhere and can be discarded after use.

The inspectorate proposed it would be better if the receipt books were only issued by DURS and would contain the company's number, which would make it very hard to explain the cancellation of the invoice, chief market inspector Andrejka Grlić said.

She also called for stiffening the fines for moonlighters, which are now set at EUR 208. But she said even graver violations were committed by registered companies. The Market Inspectorate has been leading its own information campaign against the shadow economy since 2011.