Italy Tax Amnesty Devastates Swiss Banks
Billions lost during last quarter of 2009
The tax issue in Italy... where to begin. Those who do have money and choose to pay their taxes get socked with as much as 50% in VAT and income taxes. Those who decide to be "furbo" (sneaky) send their money to switzerland or offshore banks elsewhere and wait for an Amnesty such as the one that was declared in 2009 in Italy. To bring their money back to Italy, all bank account holders have to do is pay a 5% penalty and their tax evasion is pardoned. Not bad, huh? Make you wonder why Italy is a political disaster?
According to Reuters, as much as 7 billion Euro were drained from Swiss Bank Accounts in 2009.