摘要:Abstract The interruption of the {VAT} chain at national borders makes several types of tax fraud possible. One is the multi stages black {VAT} chain in the domestic markets of various countries, which facilitates the development of a black economy favouring the evasion of income tax, social security contributions and other market regulations, including the protection of intellectual property and of brands. We devise a stylised model of Nash equilibrium-black chain for the “VAT-free goods”, depicting its effects on both market prices and illegal gains for fraudsters. The policy implications of the model aiming to contrast the black economy are analysed.