CAUGHT IN TRAFFIC

Those of us who work in Toronto and enjoy the privilege of driving to work here need no reminders about the hazards of driving anywhere these days. With the post winter construction season now in full swing here, parts of downtown Toronto resemble the set for another ‘aliens invade earth’ movie. This being said, our problems pale in comparison to those facing drivers in Italy.

According to a recent entry in Tax Notes International (February 20, 2012, p.577), drivers of high-end luxury cars are being stopped by Italian police. Information from their drivers’ licenses is then forwarded to the Italian revenue authorities who check to see if the car owner has reported taxable income compatible with the cost of the vehicle. This is part of their recent effort to crack down on tax evaders. (I recall reading last year that the Greek revenue authorities had taken an equally creative approach to identifying evaders. They took aerial photographs of residential neighborhoods to identify homes with swimming pools. The owners’ tax returns were then examined for the same purpose.) The TNI note describes a man driving a Mercedes who had no tax record and whose wife was collecting social assistance. A BMW X 5 SUV driver was found to have no declared income. Drivers of Porches, Maseratis and Range Rovers are reported to be very nervous.

“Mi è stato catturato nel traffico, caro” (I was caught in traffic, dear) has a whole different meaning in Italy, it seems.