Exclusive: Italy seeks $1.3 bln from fintech group ION in tax evasion probe, sources say
ROME, April 9 (Reuters) - Italy is seeking 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) from fintech group ION following a probe by prosecutors in the northern city of Bologna into alleged tax evasion over the 2013-2023 period, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The investigation adds to a string of tax evasion cases in Italy targeting U.S. tech companies, which are also at the centre of a wider EU response to the trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.
ION Group is a privately held provider of financial services software and data based in Dublin and with offices across the globe which was founded by Andrea Pignataro, an Italian businessman hailing from Bologna.
ION has spent around 6 billion euros on a series of acquisitions in Italy in recent years as Pignataro works to build a hub to provide data and digital services to smaller banks.
The sum Italy's tax authorities are demanding from ION includes up to 500 million euros in missing revenues, which more than doubles when interest payments are added, one of the sources said.
ION's lawyers are in discussions with the Italian tax authority to contest the claims, the person added.
The charge is failure to file a tax return, the second source said, with prosecutors and Italy's tax police in Bologna alleging that the company declared income abroad that was actually produced in Italy.
Reuters reported last month that Italy had handed tax demands to Meta (META.O), opens new tab, X and LinkedIn in an unprecedented VAT claim against the U.S. tech giants that could have repercussions across the EU.
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The Guardian
36 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘We're not afraid of you': LA protesters, enraged by Trump, flood the streets
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The protesters did not hesitate to walk right up to the heavily armed me. 'We're not afraid of you!' one organiser with a bullhorn, John Parker, yelled. One of the many banners on display read: 'National Guard LOL.' Every building and wall in the immediate vicinity was covered in profane graffiti, the most common being 'Fuck ICE', 'LAPD can suck it' and 'Kill all cops.' Shortly after noon, the guardsmen, flanked by armed officers with Department of Homeland Security insignia, fired teargas into the growing crowd so a caravan of DHS and Border Patrol vehicles could push its way through. People backed off briefly and donned masks, only to come back in larger numbers within a few minutes. That was the extent of the national guard's involvement. 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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
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