BBC News reports outrage in tax-shy Italy after the outgoing government published every Italian’s declared earnings and tax contributions on their website!
The information was published with no warning for nearly 24 hours. It was later removed after a formal complaint from the country’s privacy watchdog.
The finance ministry described the move as a bid to improve transparency. Deputy Economic Minister Vincenzo Visco is quoted as saying “he could not understand what all the fuss was about.”
“This already exists all around the world, you just have to watch any American soap to see that. We had the system ready by January but we delayed publication to avoid arguments during the election campaign.”
According to an Italian government report from 2007, the amount of unpaid tax in the country is equivalent to 7% of gross domestic product.
You can read the full story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/7376608.stm