Italy tightens security after attacks on tax officials
The Italian prime minister announces support and increased security for tax officials as they come under attack from an angry public who are struggling with financial hardship.
Italian tax collectors have been assaulted and repeatedly injured in recent weeks amidst a resurgence of political anger and violence driven by the country’s economic crisis.
The officials have been accused of heavy handed methods in collecting fines and taxes, and have been held partly responsible by some for a wave of suicides by small business owners in financial difficulty. The violence against them is thought to be from individuals with financial difficulties, but concerns have also been raised about a reappearance of radical far-left groups hoping to exploit the public mood.
Prime Minister Mario Monti voiced “unconditional support” to tax officials on Thursday and the government convened a national security committee to improve their protection.
Security increased
The government response also follows an attack on a senior nuclear industry executive last week. Roberto Adinolfi was shot in the leg in an attack claimed by the anarchist group, Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI).
The offices at Mr Adinolfi’s company, Finmeccanica, parent company of Ansaldo Nucleare, is one of 14,000 locations where security will be increased.
The army and intelligence units will support the police forces “to neutralise risks of possible subversive actions which could fuel moments of tension,” the ministry said in a statement.
Mr Monti expressed “the unconditional support of the government and myself in the face of numerous and frequently repeated acts of intimidation and aggression in recent days which must be condemned with great firmness”.
Tax collector targeted
The hostility directed at Equitalia, which collects fines and taxes, has increased sharply as businesses already struggling to raise bank loans have been hit by big tax bills.
Italy has a history of political violence, notably during the ‘Years of Lead’ in the 1970s, when dozens of officials and business leaders were killed by the far-left Red Brigades [grafitti pictured above].
The current climate is not as tense, and the recent attacks against Equitalia officials appear to be at the hands of individuals, rather than organised political groups. But rising unemployment, severe recession and austerity measures imposed to fight the crisis are all adding to a public mood of discontent, and security forces fear anarchist and other violent leftist groups may try to capitalise on the economic crisis to garner suppor.
‘We are the crazy lovers of freedom’
In a letter to the Calabria Ora newspaper on Wednesday, the Olga cell of the FAI, which claimed responsibility for Mr Adinolfi’s shooting, also threatened Mr Monti himself and the offices of the company, Equitalia.
The group’s statement, dated 7 May, reads: “With this action of ours we return to you a tiny part of the suffering that you, man of science, are pouring into the world…We are the crazy lovers of freedom and we will never renounce the revolution and the complete destruction of the state and its violence.”
In another sign of political action, several leaflets bearing the Red Brigades’ five-pointed star logo were also plastered on tax agency offices and other official buildings last week.
