Data about Italians' incomes online

In his weblog Beppe Grillo, a well-known Italian comedian and leader of the "piss off" movement, describes the publishing of the declared incomes of Italian citizens on the Internet as an "infamous monument". The ministry of finance published the data online following a decision by former tax minister Vincenzo Visco. The data was removed just a few hours after its publishing. Grillo writes that "Visco must have got the idea from the 'Ndrangheta [a criminal gang in southern Italy], the Mafia and the Camorra. ... It makes kidnapping easier and enables criminal groups to adjust the amounts they demand in bribes and hush money to people's incomes. Organised crime no longer needs to carry out its own investigations; it can simply look up the information on the online database of the Italian National Tax Office. ... Tax evaders have nothing to fear; their data is not recorded. Only those who pay their taxes are being punished, and those who pay higher taxes will be robbed or kidnapped."

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