With the twin orders Nos. 8605 and 8606 of 28 April 2015, the Court of Cassation recognised the usability of the so-called Falciani list in disputes against Italian taxpayers, affirming the following principle of law.
In its activity of assessing tax evasion, the tax authorities may – in principle – rely on any item of evidence having indicative value, with the exception of those whose inadmissibility derives from a provision of law or from the fact that they were obtained by the authorities in breach of a right of the taxpayer. Therefore, in adversarial proceedings with the taxpayer, the bank data obtained by an unfaithful employee of a bank may be used, regardless of any offence committed by the employee himself and of the breach of the right to confidentiality of bank data (which enjoys no protection as against the tax authorities). Where an assessment notice is issued, it will therefore be for the court of first instance or appeal to assess whether the data in question are reliable, including by checking them against the taxpayer’s defences.
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