The Italian tax authorities are using cash sniffing dogs to sniff cash at airports. This is the newest of innovative technique introduced by the Italian police to catch tax evaders. According to sources, during the first seven months the Italian police seized $47.6 million in cash, gold and silver from travelers at different airports who were carrying large amounts of unaccounted money.

The money was discovered from the most unlikely of places: shoe heels, tampons, underwear and cigarettes. Thanks to the wonderful work being done by the dogs, it did not matter where the cash was hidden.

Mostly, smugglers use €500 note to transfer large amounts of cash. The Italian authorities have recovered millions in cash that have helped them in bringing down tax evasion and transfer of illegal money in, out and around the country.

The IRS may take cue from the Italian tax police and begin to use dogs to sniff out large dollar notes. The only reward that the dogs expect after helping seize millions in cash is a rubber ball. It is a win-win situation for the authorities.

In the past decade, the U.S. government has lost $3 trillion in tax evasion. Maybe using this new technique to catch tax thieves can help bring down tax evasion. It is good news for taxpayers who conscientiously pay taxes to the government every year, as they will not need to pay extra taxes to the government due to tax evasion.

Using “cash dogs” to sniff cash is cost-effective. Maybe the IRS will also find this new technique effective and implement it in the U.S.