Italy's black economy amounted
to one third of official GDP, or at least 540 billion euros,
private research institute Eurispes said Thursday.
To this must be added over 200 billion euros generated by
Italy's criminal economy, according to the Eurispes 2016 Italy
report.
The black economy accounted for some 270 billion euros in
missed tax revenue, the research institute added.
The report presented tax evasion as being a 'mass
phenomenon' that involves most Italians in one way or another.
"Are we all evaders? Probably yes," Eurispes wrote.
Babysitters were the category that most often work without
a contract (im 80% of cases), followed by private tutors (78.7%)
and domestic workers (72.5%).
Carers for the elderly, gardeners, bricklayers, plumbers,
electricians and carpenters all came high on the list, as did
specialist doctors at 50%.
During 2015 28.1% of people interviewed agreed to work
without a contract, according to the Eurispes report.
This compared to 18.6% the previous year.
Finance police completed 16,928 investigations into
alleged tax evasion and tax fraud, according to figures
contained in the Eurispes report.
These alleged tax crimes led to 10,893 reports and asset
seizures worth over 895 million euros.
Investigations also uncovered 9,655 contractless and 9,301
irregular workers and 4,483 employers who used irregular or
black labour.
The Eurispes 2016 Italy report also registered signs of
improvement regarding the economic outlook for families compared
to last year.
The percentage of people who thought the economic situation
in Italy had remained stable over the last year rose from 14.6%
to 30.3%, while the percentage of those who though it had
deteriorated fell from 58.4% to 23.3%.
The number of optimists also rose from 1.5% in 2015 to
16.2% this year.
Some 27.3% of people interviewed said they couldn't make
ends meet, down 19.9% over last year.
Likewise, 44.5% said their family had to resort to using
savings in order to make it to the end of the month, down 18.3%
on 2015.
The report also probed changes in behaviour as a result of
the Islamist terrorist threat following the November Paris
attacks in which 130 people were killed.
Nearly one in four Italians said they had changed their
daily habits in response to the threat, Eurispes found.
Specifically, 17% said they tried to avoid crowded places
such as cinemas and theatres, while 16% used public transport
less often.
Railway stations and airports were found to be no-go areas
for one Italian in five.
Further, nearly two in five (39.8%) said they viewed Middle
Eastern-looking people with suspicion.
Generally speaking, the higher the level of education the
lower the level of fear.
Also, confidence among Italians in the intelligence
services rose from 62% in 2015 to 64% this year.
This compared to 52% in President Sergio Mattarella, 35.3%
in the judiciary and 20% in parliament - up 10.1% over last
year.
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