Italy Raised EUR 9.1B from Tax Cheats in 2009
March 5th, 2010
Italy managed to acquire EUR9.1 billion from tax avoiders last year, a 32% increase from the ERU6.9 billion raised in 2008, a top revenue official said Tuesday.
The improved performance reflected a 17% increase in tax receipts following formal audits, and a 72% increase in direct deposits from those with tax liabilities, said Luigi Magistro, director-general of Italy’s revenue agency at a press conference in Rome.
Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti has pledged to crack down on tax evasion especially after his amnesty program allowed Italians to repatriate EUR95 billion in undeclared offshore assets.
Various studies estimate that between 15% and 30% of all economic activity in Italy skirts the tax system. Some 90% of tax forms report income of below EUR30,000 a year, according to the Finance Ministry.
Story from Wall Street Journal
