Italy tax amnesty yielded over 80 bln euros-Tremonti

ROME Dec 23 (Reuters) - Italy's tax amnesty aimed at bringing funds illegally held overseas back into the country has so far yielded more than 80 billion euros, Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference, Tremonti said funds repatriated up to Dec. 15, when the original terms of the amnesty expired, amounted to "more than 80 billion euros, but we still don't know how much."

Last week the cabinet extended the amnesty the end of April 2010 and slightly raised the tax rate applied on repatriated funds to 6 percent from 5 percent.

"The extension was necessary because we were seeing... a demand to bring back money which exceeded the capacity of operators to manage it," Tremonti said.

Government sources told Reuters last week the original amnesty repatriated more than 100 billion euros, providing some 5 billion euros in tax.

Tremonti said the amnesty was the last chance for tax evaders to legalise their position before an international crackdown.

"The time of tax havens is over, money which is left outside Italy is dead money," he said.

He continued a long-running verbal sparring match with Switzerland over the amnesty, saying it was "something to reflect on" that Lugano was the 10th largest financial centre in the world.

"That means there are great savings there, including great savings on taxes," Tremonti said.

(Editing by Ron Askew)

(Reporting by Paolo Biondi and Giuseppe Fonte; writing by Gavni Jones, gavin.jones@reuters.com; Phone: +39-06-8522-4232))