Gucci confirms tax evasion probe
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Italian fashion giant Gucci on Monday said police raided its offices over suspected tax evasion, confirming a report in the Italian press.
The Milan public prosecutor suspects the fashion house of declaring several years worth of Italian sales in Switzerland, thereby saving around 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in domestic tax, La Stampa daily said.
The investigation is reportedly based on information from a former senior Gucci employee who has since left the company, which is part of French luxury group Kering.
La Stampa said financial police had spent at least three days searching Gucci’s new, ultra-modern Milan headquarters and also other offices.
“With respect to an article concerning an audit by the local tax police conducted at Gucci’ls offices in Florence and Milan published in an Italian newspaper today, Gucci confirms that it is providing its full cooperation to the respective authorities and is confident about the correctness and transparency of its operations,” Gucci said in a statement.
Four years ago, fellow Italian fashion behemoth Prada had to pay 470 million euros to the Italian taxman after it declared a decade’s worth of home revenue abroad.
The Italian tax dragnet has since extended to tech giants — 318 millions euros of Italian revenue for Apple and 306 million for Google while investigations are also under way regarding Amazon and Facebook.
Gucci has turned in a strong recent performance with third quarter organic growth of 49.4 percent on 1.5 billion euros of sales.
Questions & Answers
Q.What is Gucci suspected of doing to evade tax?
What is Gucci suspected of doing to evade tax?
Gucci is suspected of declaring several years of Italian sales in Switzerland. This move allegedly allowed the fashion house to save approximately 1.3 billion euros in domestic tax, according to reports.
Q.What led to the start of this investigation?
What led to the start of this investigation?
The investigation is reportedly based on information provided by a former senior Gucci employee. This individual has since left the company, which is part of the French luxury group Kering.
Q.Which other companies have faced similar tax investigations in Italy?
Which other companies have faced similar tax investigations in Italy?
Fellow Italian fashion house Prada paid 470 million euros for declaring revenue abroad. Tech giants Apple and Google have also settled for 318 million and 306 million euros respectively, with Amazon and Facebook currently under investigation.
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