In the book, Cottarelli describes seven “sins” of the Italian economy, responsible of slowing down the country’s economic growth. I have found the book of particular relevance for both its objectivity and for the author’s clarity of thought. These seven sins can be divided into two categories, the long-standing ones and those more recent. Those that are within the Italian economy’s DNA make most of the list, these are: tax evasion, corruption, slow justice, excessive bureaucracy and the disparity between the North and the South. On the other hand, the most recent ones are: the fast aging of the population and the difficulty of Italy in adapting to the common currency. In this brief article I will only focus on the first sin, the one on tax evasion.