Italy has most EU tax evaders

Опубликовано: 02 Август 2011

In Italy, over half of taxable revenue remains undeclared, meaning that it tops the list of European Union tax evaders, according to a poll by the Association of Italian Taxpayers.

According to the poll, most of the perpetrators are companies that design and maintain online shopping websites. More than 2 million such sites are registered in Italy, while only 800,000 are legally invoiced.

The EU white collar crime police estimate that the other sites, whose owners cannot be found by Italian authorities, account for €3 billion in lost taxes to the Italian government annually, reports the Sofia News Agency.

Romania comes in second place with 42 percent and Bulgaria is a close third place with 38 percent.  Estonia and Slovakia round out the top five with 37 percent and 32 percent respectively.

Sweden, where only 8 percent  of taxable revenue is undeclared, has the least offenders.  It is followed by Belgium and the UK, where 10 percent and 12 percent of income remains under the table.