...they should try this in Belgium
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7376608.stm
Italy posts salary details on web
Italians were curious to see how much their neighbours earned
There has been outrage in Italy after the outgoing government
published every Italian's declared earnings and tax contributions on
the internet.
The tax authority's website was inundated by people curious to know
how much their neighbours, celebrities or s****ts stars were making.
The Italian treasury suspended the website after a formal complaint
from the country's privacy watchdog.
The information was put on the site with no warning for nearly 24
hours.
Sour grapes?
The release of the information was one of the last acts of the
outgoing centre-left government and has shocked many tax-shy Italians,
says the BBC's Mark Duff in Milan.
But it was also hugely popular, and within hours the site was
overwhelmed and impossible to access.
The finance ministry described the move as a bid to improve
transparency.
Critics condemned it as an outrageous breach of privacy.
The timing of the move, just days before the current administration
hands over to incoming Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, was
intriguing too, says our correspondent.
The outgoing government came to power promising to tackle Italians'
notoriously lax approach to paying tax.
Some sceptics have seen the move as just end of term sour grapes, our
correspondent adds.
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