If it's time to cough up and you're feeling down, think about this.

1. When your taxes go up, it usually means you are making more money, and that can't be a bad thing.

2. Tax evasion in Italy is the norm, so when you invoice properly, your clients take you more seriously.

3. At the Association we give a 5% discount when people pay for classes with a bank transfer.  Besides making our accounting easier and more transparent, it is the opposite of what many tax evaders here do, which is offer you a discount if you pay in cash. This move continues to earn us a lot of respect from our members.

4. You can work under the table all you want, but it will never make you feel richer or more professional. In fact, at the end of the year, the only thing that counts is your balance sheet, and work that is not invoiced doesn't show there. Declaring only a small part of what you actually bring in, alongside all of your expenses creates a lop-sided document that makes you look and feel like you are not in control of your finances.

5. In general, work on keeping your expenses down rather than looking for ways to avoid paying taxes. That is where you really notice the difference. It's much easier to pay your taxes (and much less annoying as a concept) when you don't spend the money you were supposed to put aside for them.

6. The negative energy people spend on complaining could be better used to look for new sources of income.  I, personally, would love the opportunity to make this lament: "The problem with making 2 million is that it's really 1 million after taxes."

7. The argument that our taxes don't do anything for us in Italy is Baloney. Health Care here is available for everyone. The peace of mind that brings is well worth the taxes we pay to keep it that way.