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Dolce & Gabbana designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are making news this morning for a not so glamorous reason. WWD reports that sources say the Italian government has indicted the duo on tax evasion charges that could personally cost the designers up to $1 billion plus in unpaid taxes and fines.
The case has been in the works for two years now and back in 2009, Dolce & Gabbana refuted the impending charge with the statement, "It’s a paradox! Since when does one have to pay taxes on money one never actually collected. It’s an absurd demand based on a completely abstract calculation. This higher taxable sum?is a virtual figure we have never received, the result of a theoretical accounting exercise.”
Speculation is that the duo will end up paying some sort of fine to make the whole thing go away. Sounds a lot more comfortable than the maximum jail-time punishment of three years in the pokey.
If it's any consolation, the design duo in in prestigious company, as Roberto Cavalli, Gianfranco Ferré and Giorgio Armani have all tussled with the Italian money 'po at some point in the past two decades.
· Dolce, Gabbana Said Indicted in Tax Case [WWD, subscription req'd]
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