Title: Error and fraud in the construction industry, from an ethical view

Background: The Swedish government looses billions every year on construction companies that neglect to pay tax. This is a problem not only for the government, but also for the whole construction industry which gets a bad reputation. To solve this problem, the government implemented Reverse - Charge in Sweden for building companies. In short terms, this law means that the liability to pay VAT (Value Added Tax) moved from the seller to the buyer.

The thesis main problem to investigate is: In what forms do frauds in construction industry appear? What do legislators and the society think about these frauds, and the actions against them? Which ethical views affect the frauds and the actions against them, in what way?

Purpose: To investigate the errors and frauds in the construction industry, how companies and legislators handle these problems and how the society tries to solve them. The purpose is also to investigate which ethical views affect the actors and in which way.

Method: This thesis is a qualitative method of investigation, based on an archive study.

Results and conclusions: The main problem in the construction industry lies in the subcontractor and their unwillingness to pay taxes. The society and the government is trying to solve this problem by implementing new laws. One new law is the Reverse – Charge. There are three main ethical views that affect the actors on the market. These are the consequence-, duty- and virtue ethics. A criminal behavior has its starting point in the consequentialism, while a legislator has its starting point in the duty ethics. The virtue ethics view wants us to create role models to prevent a criminal behavior. Our opinion is that the Reverse – Charge isn’t enough to solve the problems that appear in the construction industry. It is necessary to introduce laws that prevent a consequentual thinking.