Italy’s Guardia di Finanza crack down on tax evasion
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Ansa/TgCom/Rai Italy’s financial crimes force has identified around a thousand tax evaders accused of dodging more than €2 million a piece in 18 months. Collectively the fraudsters deprived the state of a record €2.3 billion between January 1st, 2017 and May 31st of this year, the Guardia di Finanza said on Wednesday.
“We’re not talking about small shop owners, artisans or entrepreneurs – who represent the economic backbone of Italy – that might have forgotten to issue a receipt,” the force said in its latest report. “We’re talking about major evaders, that is, fiscally dangerous subjects whose assets are the direct expression of their financial crimes.”
The force said it had already recovered €1.3 billion by confiscating assets from large-scale evaders, who were the worst offenders of a total of nearly 13,000 people or companies caught dodging taxes over the same period.
Responding to the figures, Finance Minister Giovanni Tria reiterated his pledge to crackdown on tax fraud and evasion, which he said was limiting Italy’s potential for growth. The new government has promised to increase penalties for the biggest tax dodgers, while radically simplifying the Italian tax system down to just two basic rates to encourage greater participation.
