Live News From Spain As It Happens

Spain’s new conservative government will crack down on tax evasion and trim the public sector in its drive to chip away at a bloated budget deficit, an official said Thursday.

Word of the new measures came a week after the government announced a €15 billion ($19.4 billion) package of spending cuts and tax hikes.

Personal and corporate tax returns will be scrutinized more closely, tax inspectors will visit workplaces more often to ensure workers are being paid through the payroll, and the government is considering setting a limit beyond which some transactions cannot be carried out in cash, government spokeswoman Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said after a Cabinet meeting.

She said the government hopes to raise nearly €8.2 billion in 2012 in extra revenue with the anti-tax fraud initiative.

Read more at Washingtonpost.com