Italian police have recovered less than 70 billion euros (91 billion U.S. dollars) out of hundreds of billions from tax dodgers in the past 13 years, the economy ministry said on Thursday.
More than 807 billion euros (over 1,046 billion U.S. dollars) in suspected evasions have been flagged for audits between 2000 and 2012, according to a report of the ministry.
Meanwhile some debtors have gone bankrupt due the current global economic crisis, and many cases have been contested and remain open, it said.
According to the Italian central bank, record high tax burdens continued to be a major obstacle to recovery in the country, which is in its longest recession in more than 20 years.
Last year, tax burdens increased to 44 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), up from 42.6 percent in 2011, the central bank said in a recent report.
Earlier this week, Standard and Poor's downgraded its rating for Italy down to BBB from BBB+ with a negative outlook, showing that the eurozone third largest economy's situation "remains complex," according to Prime Minister Enrico Letta.
