Italy police check 59,000 people for San Marino tax evasion

ROME (Reuters) - Italian authorities are checking on 59,000 people who moved funds between Italy and the tax haven of San Marino in the last six years and have uncovered 850 million euros (£600 million) of income on which no tax was paid, the tax police said on Thursday. Tax evasion is a deep-rooted problem in Italy, with the economy ministry estimating that around 91 billion euros of taxes are dodged every year. Preliminary investigations into more than 1,050 bank accounts "allowed us to discover more than 850 million euros of income hidden from the authorities and 153 million euros of evaded value added tax," Rome tax police said in a statement. They said they had identified almost 27,000 Italians and 32,000 foreigners or residents of the tiny enclave in central Italy who had moved some 33 billion euros between Italy and San Marino between 2009 and 2014. (Reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)