MILAN (Dow Jones)--Under the Italian government's tax amnesty plan, assets worth EUR95 billion have been declared, of which 98% will be brought back to Italy from offshore, the Italian Economy Ministry said Tuesday, citing data as of Dec. 15.
"This is a positive dividend from the London G20," said Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti in a phone interview. "The era of banking secrecy is over."
Tremonti was referring to the meeting of the Group of 20 industrial and developing nations in London in April where world leaders took measures aimed at repairing the financial system to lift the economy from a global recession.
The EUR95 billion figure was well above the ministry's previous total of EUR80 billion. The higher figure is because of "a lastminute acceleration" in people making a voluntary disclosure, Tremonti said.
In an emailed statement, the ministry also said the extension of the plan to April 2010 would be the "last one and definitive." In December, Tremonti announced the extension of the plan but with higher fees. Italians who repatriate assets by Feb. 28 will have to pay a 6% fee on those assets, while assets declared by April 30 will have a 7% fee.
Tremonti declined to give a forecast of the total amount of funds that could be disclosed and repatriated.
In October, the Italian government started a tax amnesty plan that allowed Italians with undeclared assets hidden in tax shelters outside the country to repatriate them by paying a 5% fee.
