"The amount of taxes and compulsory contributions that are evaded in Italy is enormous. Over the past three years, the crackdown on tax evasion has already brought into the state coffers approximately € 25 billion. The budget plan currently being discussed in the Senate envisages action aimed at recovering some € 700 million in 2012 and € 1.6 billion in 2013, an increase that will be the outcome of a radical change in the strategy against tax evasion. The crackdown will no longer focus exclusively on repression but also on prevention, which means there will be greater action at a local level through the involvement of city administrations, enhanced banking transparency as well as a reform of the penal sanctions. The ratio of the sums that are expected to be collected as well as the intensity of the changes will ensure that the targeted sums will not only be achieved but also abundantly exceeded. As for the rest, the budget remains unchanged and has a solid financial coverage."
The above is what emerged during the conversation between minister Tremonti and the European Commissioner Rehn, the Ministry for the Economy and Finance said in a statement.