ROME: Italy’s financial police pressed charges against over 13,000 people for suspected tax fraud in 2014, more than half of whom were not declaring any income, a new report showed on Wednesday.
Nearly 150 people were jailed for tax crimes while officers seized goods worth a total of €1.2 billion ($1.29 billion) during related probes, the financial police yearly report said.
Tax evasion in Italy costs some €91 billion a year, according to the finance ministry – which equates to around six percent of national output in the eurozone’s third largest economy.
In their fight against organized crime, police seized assets worth €3.3 billion and permanently confiscated others worth €733 million, which were then turned over to the state.
Over 900 people were reported on suspicion of corruption or bribing public officials, with 44 ending up behind bars.
Investigations into the grey economy found nearly 12,000 people working off the books and over 13,000 on irregular contracts, the report said.
