Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana A.K.A Dolce and Gabbana could be going to prison for a very long time. They have been under investigation for some time for for tax evasion for more than $1 billion in income."The inquiry was begun by the Guardia di Finanza, the Italian police force specialized in fiscal crimes, which is affiliated with the finance ministry. The unit investigated the 2004 sale of the Dolce & Gabbana and D&G brands to Gado, a holding company based in Luxembourg, which was in turn owned by a company that belonged to the group headed by the designers.
Prosecutors contend that the Italian revenue service was duped out of taxes on the sale of the brands, which they claim were sold well below market value, and on the income from royalties, which were taxed in Luxembourg at a much lower rate than they would have been in Italy. The brands were sold for €360 million, or $508 million - an amount that investigators say was just under a third of their actual value, according to their own calculations." -New York Times
Apparently this is a common thing in Italy and the Italian fashion world. In the 1990s, several designers were swept up in the so-called Clean Hands investigation into corruption among Italian politicians and business executives. Some agreed to plea-bargain settlements, including Giorgio Armani, who was accused in a tax-bribery case. He was fined $64,000 and given a nine-month suspended sentence. I fine tax evasion to be a bad thing. No matter how much you have to pay, you made a lot more. If convicted these guys could face up to 5 years in prison each. I doubt they will, they play hardball and they play it well. I am going to give them a Digit Down even though they are my 2nd favorite fas
hion designers, behind Versace. The law is the law.
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