These values put Italy well above the average of the other euro-area countries and are high compared with the past, 43 per cent having been exceeded on only two occasions, in 1997 and 2007. The Planning Document gives great importance to the fight against tax evasion.
The large scale of the underground economy increases the burden on law-abiding taxpayers, causes distortions and reduces the competitiveness of the majority of firms. These effects may well be more pronounced in the present phase of economic crisis. As mentioned earlier, a gap has emerged between the rate of growth in VAT receipts and the VAT base.