The Italian government intends to pay people to pay by card

It is estimated that tax evasion costs the Italian government in excess of €100 billion a year. The government has put forward several ideas to incentivise the use of payments cards which makes transactions  easier to trace.

According to the media, one idea would be to reimburse between 2 and 4% of transactions paid by card. The measure would cost between €3 and €5 billion per year.

The President of the Italian Taxpayers’ Association has said the measure will not reach its target; “It will benefit the wealthy, who already pay by card. The poor who cannot afford credit cards will be penalised.

Another idea would consist in organising a, lottery with tax receipts. Similar lotteries already exist in Portugal and Malta.

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