NEWS
Italy Launches New Tax Crackdown
The Italian Revenue Agency has launched a new campaign to recover large amounts of undeclared funds deposited offshore by individuals who have been identified during its investigations.
The investigations concern more than 2,000 Italian residents who transferred a total of more than EUR2bn (USD2.72bn) during 2007 and 2008. Each one has transferred at least EUR0.5m, and is strongly suspected of having transferred the funds abroad in order to evade Italian taxation. The Revenue Agency said that penalties would be severe for those who are not able to provide proof of the regularity of the transfers that have been uncovered.
In a recent message from the Revenue Agency to all financial and other intermediaries, it was brought to their attention that those who did not fulfil their obligations, for example, to register all transfers above EUR15,000, would be liable to a fine up to a maximum of 40% of the funds transferred, and run the risk being co-involved in any future charges against the transferors of the funds.
In the cases under investigation, it was reported that the financial intermediaries involved had provided the necessary notification to the Italian tax authorities. However, the transferors had not included the capital held abroad, as required, in their annual tax returns. It was said that the checks being made in each case are also to verify whether there has been a single omission, or whether there is something more serious underlying the non-declaration.
The investigations are being conducted jointly by a special division of the Italian financial police (Guardia di Finanza) and the new tax force against international tax evasion formed by the Revenue Agency. The majority of the individuals identified are resident in the regions of Lombardia, Lazio, Veneto, Emilia Romagna and Piemonte, and some are suspected not only of tax evasion, but also of other criminal and civil transgressions.
Quelle: Tax-News.com
