English
Italiano Prodi – Nero!
Italy, Third World for legality.
“I welcome the conclusion of the negotiations of this important agreement. This agreement is to the advantage of the EU to protect its financial interests”…
It seems that in Nigeria, Philip Morris has left an unpaid bill of 44 billion dollars, and to avoid paying, the company refused to appear when summoned in court.
The Nigerian government wants to buy pages in Swiss newspapers, the country where Philip Morris has its headquarters, to “notify the summons through the press”.
In Italy, based on the sentence of the Italian Supreme Court of the 21st of December 2001, Philip Morris's total tax evasion amounts to 120 thousand billion old lire, equal to some 90 billion dollars. But here newspapers have never even published the news.
Moreover, thanks to an agreement between the European Union and Philip Morris, dated the 9th of July 2004, and signed by Romano Prodi, EU president at the time, the tobacco giant's “little debt” with Italy has been shelved and forgotten.
The Nigerian Government accuses British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International of illegally promoting underage smoking, in a $44 billion lawsuit. The government says it had a legally binding agreement with the companies not to target children.
Philip Morris International had rejected court papers sent by courier on three occasions. Prosecutors had asked that they be allowed to serve the firm by other means. They would publish a summons in a Swiss newspaper against Philip Morris International.
Some want their money back, and some don't seem to care, like Italy, a country where everything is possible, even the most absurd…
Italy: Follow the example set by Nigeria
On the 21st of December 2001, with the total silence of information organs, the sentence of the Supreme Court of Italy established that the total evasion of Philip Morris in Italy (without counting the interest earned up to today) amounted to 120 thousand billion old lire, equal to 90 billion dollars.
On the 9th of July 2004, an important agreement was signed between the European Union and Philip Morris: the tobacco giant would pay 1.2 billion dollars, in instalments over a 10-year period, interest free, to close all the past issues. Why so little? Why only 1.2, instead of 90, and what's more, why is the sum is to be divided among all the countries of the European Union?
Nevertheless, the president of the European Commission at the time, Italy's Romano Prodi, proudly declared: “I welcome the conclusion of the negotiations of this important agreement. This agreement is to the advantage of the EU to protect its financial interests”.
For Philip Morris, evidently, the sentence of the Italian Supreme Court is not so important, it can be easily eluded. And no one will say anything… because wère in Italy….
Unfortunately no one, not even in the top “intelligenzia” of Italian politics, while the newspapers dedicated their headlines to the successes against the "Mafia" in Sicily, had the intelligence quotient to realise what a great pickpocketing job the Marlboro Cowboy was getting way with: an amount equal to a number of state financial measures.
And similarly, no one realised what a splendid gift Italy gave Philip Morris just a short time later: the “minimum price of cigarettes”, that handed the whole Italian tobacco market over to Philip Morris.
But what is fairer and best for the country: increase the cigarette prices or increase the cigarette taxes? Is it better to give away our money to Philip Morris or to our State? Way to go, Big Tobacco! You succeeded in making off with the money of the Italian people!
But are we so sure that the tax evasion worthy of the Guinness book of Records that Philip Morris has got away with in this “hunting reserve” called Italy, can be quietly shelved and then sent of to the rubbish tip?
In this third world of legality, it might just be an Italian cigarette company, following the example of the Nigerian government, who buys the pages of national newspapers to denounce the thieves, and the brown-nosing collaborators on their pay lists.
“120,000 billion lire subtracted from all forms of direct and indirect taxation”
On Internet, we can find traces of Philip Morris's “secret” tax evasion; for example, take a look at the site: www.senato.it:
Maurizio Eufemi
Act no. 4-02248, published on the 28th of May 2002, Session no. 177 (Sen. Maurizio Eufemi, UDC):
To the President of the Council of Ministers and to the Ministers of Justice, of the Economy and of Finances.
Premised that
In issue no. 22 of the weekly «Panorama», the news appeared that, following a long and tormented judiciary process lasting more than five years, the sacking of Dr. Ernesto Del Gizzo by Minister pro tempore Vincenzo Visco, was declared illegitimate. Dr. Del Gizzo was the Managing Director of the Italian State Monopolies and he had made the “mistake” of firmly opposing the renewal of the contract between the State Monopolies and Philip Morris;
Against the tobacco multinational, the Supreme Court of Italy with sentence of 21 December 2001 had definitively established that Philip Morris had set up a stable organisation in Italy whose existence had led to tax evasion of about 120,000 billion lire subtracted from all forms of direct and indirect taxation;
following the dismissal of the above official, that occurred in February 1997, there was an expansion of the American multinational, which, in fact, became the monopolist of the national tobacco market.
In fact, following the recovery of the legal cigarette market, thanks to the incisive anti-smuggling action performed by the Finance Police —Guardia di Finanza—, the market was totally taken over by Philip Morris, which today controls over 60% of the sales of smoking products;
this last circumstance is the most serious obstacle to the entry on the market of the ETI (Ente Tabacchi Italiano); it is not, as maintained in an act of syndicate inspectors presented to the Chamber of Deputies (5-00880 of 6th May 2002), vaguely indicated pressure coming from national and foreign subjects.
We are asking to know
What is the state of the examination of the accounting and administrative responsibility against public officials under examination by the General and Regional Prosecutor of the Court of Accounts;
In what way is the Italian Government intending to compensate the damages caused to the official (Del Gizzo) unfairly and illegally dismissed from his position, restoring to him the institutional dignity up to now denied.
More info
- Nigerian court says Philip Morris tobacco giant refused court summons
- Nigeria to summons tobacco firm in Swiss newspaper – Reuters.com
- Italy – 37,5 billion Dollars Lost
- Minimum Price – The EU in tune with Yesmoke
What about this??