Taxes suck, but we all have to pay them, otherwise we won't have things like roads or policemen. Italy has been having to cut back on things like roads and policemen recently because of the country's budget crisis, and people are figuring out that a big part of the problem is tax evasion.
One simple solution that has worked thus far, pull over expensive cars and have the guys back at the office check the owner's tax records. It caught a lot of tax cheats, but has wounded the country's economy in a different way; supercar sales are down about 50% as compared to last year. Despite record growth in the rest of Europe, North America, and China, Ferrari only sold 248 cars in Italy in 2012, and Maserati is in similar straights, having suffered an 80% drop in sales.
Exotic car owners, both law abiding and tax cheating, have said that the harassment from law enforcement has sucked the joy out of owning these cars, and many are looking to sell their rides.
Related: 12 Stories of People Crashing Their Recently Purchased Supercars
Related: Year of the Supercar: 9 Amazing Supercars From the Geneva Motor Show
[via Car & Driver]
