Italian Revenue Discloses Record Anti-Evasion Revenues
The Italian Revenue Agency has confirmed that it collected a record EUR14.2bn in additional tax revenue from its actions against tax evasion during 2014.
Revenue from the Revenue Agency’s tax enforcement activities last year increased by over EUR1bn, a growth of eight percent compared with 2013. This result was achieved despite a 4.4 percent fall in the number of tax audits, due mainly to the Agency’s efforts to target sectors considered to be the highest risk for not declaring income.
The Revenue Agency also reported that it improved its services for taxpayers last year. It accelerated its payment of tax refunds amounting to EUR13bn, and around 3m taxpayers benefited. The Agency disbursed a total of EUR430m in individual income tax refunds within a few months to support 585,000 employees who had been made redundant.
In addition, the Revenue Agency’s online services were enhanced in 2014, and an increasing number of taxpayers took to administering their taxes online.
The agency said: “The new Italian tax deal has the purpose of changing the relationship between the tax authority and the taxpayer, focusing on four basic pillars: a tax system that is simpler, more certain, more digital, and with a lower tax burden thanks also to effective action against evasion. This latter means concentrating on specific sectors with a high level of tax gap, rather than automatically in all areas and without a precautionary quality screening.”
