Italian Revenue Agency Follows Tax Evaders On Holiday

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

26 August 2009

The Italian revenue authorities have continued their campaign against tax evasion into the summer, by following Italians on their holidays.

It was announced that, from 1 July to mid-August, more than 14,500 checks had been made on the owners of yachts and luxury cars, and that the enquiries had been concentrated on those cases where there had been found to be a disparity between the ownership of these luxury items and the individuals’ overall lifestyle, and their declared income, indicating, in the view of the authorities, that there was a higher risk of tax evasion.

Furthermore, there has been a campaign concentrated on the holiday trade in hotels and hostels, restaurants and pizzerias, bars, beach clubs, tourist villages, campsites and discotheques. Aside from a total of up to EUR50m (USD72m) in undeclared income and unpaid VAT from the sites checked, many businesses were discovered to be completely unknown to the authorities, having never completed tax returns.

Such targeted operations, it is said, have only scratched the surface of tax evasion in Italy. In 2007 (the latest figures available), it has emerged that one Italian in two declared a taxable annual income of less than EUR15,000, and only 0.2% declared more than EUR200,000.

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