Italian tax chief quits, accusing politicians of undermining his work

ROME (Reuters) - The head of Italy's tax collection agency announced on Friday that he was resigning, complaining that politicians had demonised the fight against fiscal fraud.

Ernesto Maria Ruffini has headed Italy's Revenue Agency since 2020 and had another year to run on his contract, but he told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that he was tired of his work being vilified.

"I'd never seen public officials being branded as part of a state extortion racket, or heard that the Revenue Agency was holding families hostage, as if it were a kidnapper," he said.

"It's as if fighting tax evasion meant you were taking (political) sides and was even something to be ashamed of," he said. "Personally, I have always thought that the tax evaders were the ones hurting honest citizens."

Ruffini did not name names, but his words appeared directed at Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who have both accused his agency of hurting ordinary Italians.

Salvini said last year he wanted to free "millions of Italians who have been held hostage for too many years by the Revenue Agency", while Meloni has compared tax inspections of small businesses to mafia extortion.

Neither Meloni nor Salvini made any immediate comment on Ruffini's departure.

In recent days, government supporters have accused Ruffini of planning to enter politics, something he denied on Friday.

Tax evasion is a chronic problem in Italy, costing state coffers more than 80 billion euros ($84 billion) in 2021, according to the most recent Treasury data.

However, the figure exceeded 100 billion euros in 2019, suggesting the Revenue Agency had chalked up gains in the fight against evasion and fraud.

Ruffini said it now had the technology to make it easier to find tax evaders, and that it was up to the government to decide how to use these new tools.

Meloni has criticised plans for what she called "invasive" tax evasion measures that would allow tax authorities to seek discrepancies between someone's declared revenue and their lifestyle. ($1 = 0.9537 euros)

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Kevin Liffey)