LIVORNO. Not only the control of the bathing establishment whose manager would have declared half the umbrellas compared to those actually used, evading 250 thousand euros even with unpaid receipts (then remedied with the “special repentance” through the payment of 180 thousand euros). This is the tip of the iceberg of an activity carried out by the yellow flames who, since last summer and up to this point of the season, have carried out over 300 interventions on the bathrooms of the entire province, of which approximately 80 from May to today.
Making these numbers official, which concern the Livorno tourist sector, is the provincial commander of the financial police, Colonel Cesare Antuofermo. «Controls that range from verifying the issuing of receipts for the rental of umbrellas and deckchairs, to illegal work. Overall, by mid-June this year, we reached over one and a half million euros in undeclared revenues and VAT violations amounting to almost two hundred thousand euros.”
As regards receipts, out of 130 cases analysed, 35 were irregular situations, which gives us a percentage that does not exceed 25%, perfectly in line with national data. Finance does not always arrive at the end of an investigative operation. It happens, for example, that he shows up on site after receiving a phone call from tourists who have not received a receipt for 40 euros by the end of the day for the rental of an umbrella. And then there is illegal work, detected both on our coast and on Elba or along the coasts of Piombino. «This is not a sensational phenomenon – continues Antuofermo – in which, perhaps at full capacity, the plant has 15 workers and among these, there is no trace of a couple on any paper. We have found this in about ten cases. I must also say, however, that in the vast majority, we are dealing with virtuous activities. The category should absolutely not be criminalized and I want to point out that many holders of state concessions have proven to be in good standing from a tax and employment point of view.”
The provincial commander explains the complexity of these controls, which respond to more than one voice. The orientation of the entrepreneurs to be monitored, in fact, occurs on the basis of reports, preliminary analyzes from databases or information activities. And it is precisely the intersection between “the real ascertained potential” and the declared one (in this specific case half of 200 umbrellas), which led to the maxi fine for evasion of 250 thousand euros of which The Tyrrhenian Sea reported in yesterday’s edition, with the manager – whose name was not disclosed – immediately joining the so-called “industrious repentance”, paying 180 thousand euros. An umbrella, if it costs on average 30 euros a day, why at the end of the year are reported figures on the appropriate forms that are not consistent with a simple mathematical operation calculated on a company that is known to often be fully booked? The body is there and is keeping watch, even if compared to the skills the men are few, there is a lot to take care of and it’s not just the tourist-hotel district that exists. Indeed, the controls in this sector, which also include diving and boat rentals, serve as a prevention of criminal activities. «There’s always some vulture going around. It happens throughout Italy and also in our latitudes – continues Antuofermo – where certain movements represent a potential way to penetrate a clean economic fabric. Continuously checking and asking questions therefore serves to map the territory and understand if there are any strange approaches suitable for taking over. It serves to show that we are there, and to indirectly send messages that become dissuasive for the bad guys.”
However, the activity for free access inside the establishment is limited, in the event that a citizen declares that he only wants to take a dip, without using all the services offered. The regulation of access to state property is governed both by the general rules of the civil code and by the ordinances of the captaincy and the determinations. «We pay more attention to the economic-financial aspects, everyone has their own skills».
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
