Freedom Lawyers of America

>
> It's OK to dodge taxes, says Berlusconi
>
> As election pledges go, it was almost certainly a winner: don't pay tax.
>
> The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, suggested yesterday it was
> "morally acceptable" to avoid paying taxes if they were too high, as he
> launched his European parliamentary election campaign.
>
> "If we ask citizens to pay 33% tax they will all convince themselves that
> it is right and a duty, that it is correct to pay for the services they
> receive," Ansa news agency quoted him as saying.
>
> But the billionaire media tycoon also told a press conference that if
taxes
> amounted to more than 50% of people's income, it seemed "morally
> acceptable" to avoid paying.
>
> He pledged to bring down taxes next year ahead of Italy's 2006 general
> elections.
>
> Opposition politicians howled with disapproval. "This is clearly an
> instigation to break the law," said a Left Democrat, Fabio Mussi. "It is a
> crime not to pay taxes. It would be good if Berlusconi remembered that."
>
> Mr Berlusconi confirmed he would stand for European elections this June,
> dismissing the possibility of losing as an "impossible hypothesis",
despite
> recent polls indicating his popularity is sliding.
>
> His candidacy comes days after his arch rival, the European commission
> president and former prime minister Romano Prodi, launched a campaign to
> unite the Italian left against Mr Berlusconi's centre-right coalition.
>
> Observers say the prime minister is likely to decline taking up a seat in
> the European parliament should he win, passing it to another candidate
from
> his party.
>