In a speech marking the corps’ 249th anniversary, De Gennaro said “the fight against international VAT fraud, aggressive tax planning schemes, corporate cross-border investments in offshore jurisdictions and stable occult organisations of multinational companies” in Italy must be combined with initiatives “to encourage taxpayers to comply spontaneously, within the framework of a relationship whose fundamental pillars are dialogue, openness and cooperation”.
The general commander said reducing tax evasion is one of the objectives set out in the country’s massive EU-funded post-Covid National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), towards which the finance police are “working tenaciously” in order to achieve “a fairer, more equitable, more supportive and more prosperous society”.
The NRRP represents “the present and the future of Italy and Europe” and for this reason “maximum attention is being paid”, both in terms of prevention and “with a view to countering possible cases of fraud, abuse and embezzlement”, De Gennaro said.
The finance police chief also pointed out the “determination, altruism and spirit of solidarity” shown by his corps in rescuing migrants and refugees in distress at sea.
“It is the thing that matters most to me,” he added.
Italy’s finance police said in a report on Wednesday that they tracked down 8924 total tax evaders from the start of 2022 to the end of May this year.
Those caught had not paid a single euro in tax on their earnings.
The force said this was an increase of over 3000 (54.8 per cent) on the 5762 registered in the previous equivalent period.
The report was released on the 249th anniversary of the finance police (Guardia di Finanza).
The force said it seized 4.8 billion euros in assets derived from tax evasion in the January 2022-May 2023 period, up from 2.2 billion between January 2021 and May 2022.
ANSA
