MADRID - In 2012 the government of Spain will attempt to recover lost tax revenues by tackling tax evasion and conducting on-site inspections of businesses. Speaking at a press conference following a meeting of the Cabinet of Spain on January 5th, the deputy Prime Minister of Spain Soraya Saenz de Santamaria confirmed that in 2012 the government will look to significantly cut public spending, and begin a renewed crack down on tax evasion carrying out a higher number of inspections of business places ... Read More

The government of Pakistan is readying to release its latest budget plan, and is sending strong indication that in the next year it will renew its fight against tax evasion and the underground economy. With a little more than a week to go before the June 3rd reveal of Pakistan’s latest government budget plan, the Federal Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has given further indication on the government’s intentions to improve tax compliance in the coming fiscal year. At a ... Read More

As the government of India focuses its attention on the fight against tax evasion, a specialized tax investigations unit is reporting that it has uncovered over INR 55 billion (approx. USD 1.22 billion) in evaded excise duties and services taxes last year. The Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) of India, an agency within the Central Board of Excise & Customs that is charged with investigation of tax evasion, released on May 19th its performance results for the 2010 fiscal year, ... Read More

Italy is enjoying slightly improved tax revenue levels, with the collections figures for early 2011 and the 2010 year showing positive growth. On March 14th the Department of Treasury of Italy released a statement saying that in 2010 national tax revenues rose by 0.3 percent compared to the previous year, equivalent to EUR 1.3 billion. Overall, in 2010 tax authorities collected EUR 403.3 billion of taxes. According to the department, the rise in tax revenues is largely due to a 32.4 percent jump in ... Read More

A UK based gang has received cumulative sentences of 24 years jail time for a GBP 49 million money laundering scheme revolving around five pound notes, secret codes and text messages. On February 23rd the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) released an online statement, revealing that several members of a UK based gang have been sentenced to jail time for their part in the laundering of GBP 48.6 million for criminal gangs in the UK, including the UK's most prominent marijuana smuggler, between ... Read More