Tax evasion is rife at all levels in Italy and the current government believes it is the cause of many of the country's problems. In recent weeks the Financial Police have carried out several much publicised raids on businesses in various parts of Italy but it will take a sea change in habits to put a stop to day to day, small -scale evasion.
Hats off, then, to enterprising Palermo restaurant owner Filippo Lucchese, who is offering a 20% discount to any customer in possession of a fiscal receipt issued on the same day or the day before for a service or purchase costing at least €40.00. Mr Lucchese explains that his idea is simple - to raise awareness and involve all citizens and consumers in his town in the fight against tax evasion.
Talking of receipts, Mr Fargione of Modica - who likes to write wry comments in dialect on his - has some advice for his customers and this wise counsel can be roughly translated as "Watch out for your short and curlies ", the implication being that everything is now being taxed to the hilt.
However, there is also solace for Mr Monti, whose image has been sellotaped to the side of one of Mr Fargione's serviette holders, thus according the Prime Minister true fame at last!
Tuttu 'u munnu è paisi - All the world's a small town.
- Sicilian proverb
10 comments:
Looks as if my comment didn't get through yesterday. The word verification screwed up my phone. That napkin though - !!
One does wonder what will happen next :(
If taxes were at reasonable levels, rather than sky high to pay for ruinous and pointless PC government schemes, then there'd be less need for all to evade.
Tried to leave a comment but it was just wiped off, i'm too tired to write it all again! Anyway, I hope you and darling Simi are well, all good here, except Chloe had a health scare, which i'm going to write about shortly' Lol Di and Chloe..xxx
Mr. Lucchese and Mr. Fargione are making their points with style that I like. Good for them.
Sorry, Jenny - I didn't receive any comment from you yesterday. This new word verif is a pain. Glad you like the napkin! One does indeed, LindyLouMac. I'm sure thousands of Italians would agree with you, James.Oh, sorry, Di. It's such a nuisance when that happens. Poor Chloe - do give her hugs from us. x woof! Yes, I admire them both, Cuby.
It is hard to evade taxes here ..unless one pays in cash of course. I guess it is human nature to try to get away with as much as possible. Municipalities do need revenue, however, so I hope something can be done.
Hi, Pat. It is in the UK, too. As you say it's natural to want to avoid taxes but it's on such a large scale here that it really is damaging the economy.
Tuttu 'u munnu è paisi
I love the word games you can play with these things.
"Tuttu" is pretty obvious, as is "munnu"; but surely "paisi" is a corruption of "paese" which in standard Italian means "countryside" or maybe "region of" iirc - so this little proverb contains its own meaning, in a recursive sort of way.
Or perhaps I've got this all wrong - it's been known to happen in the past!
Hi, WY. Yes, the proverbs can often be worked out from knowledge of standard Italian and /or French and Spanish. "Paese" means "country" as in "nation" when spelt with a capital P and "town" when spelt with a small p in standard Italian.
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