Soldiers may be deployed to protect Italian tax offices We are going through a very difficult moment and some people may feel tempted (to cause disturbances). We all need to have a sense of duty and ensure that this temptation does not spread. Saturday night's attack took place on the Equitalia office in Livorno and the front of the building was left severely damaged by fire after the bombs exploded. The phrases "Thieves" and "Death to Equitalia" were sprayed onto outside walls. It came just 24 hours after more than 200 people had been involved in running battles with police outside a branch in Naples which left a dozen protesters and officers hurt. The attacks have escalated in the six months since Mario Monti took over from Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister and introduced a tough austerity package offcuts to public spending, pensions and tax hikes as the country tried to reign in its £1 trillion debt. There has also been a striking increase in suicides with people leaving notes directly blaming Equitalia and tax demands. Economists estimate that around 540 billion euros (£434 billion) is lost through Italy's black economy through tax evasion by individuals and companies - the figure is around 35 per cent of the country's GDP and last year more than 12 billion euros were recovered. Mr Monti has vowed to press on even harder this year to recover the lost money. Mr Monti is due to have a meeting with Equitalia chief Attilio Befera to discuss the situation. On Sunday football legend Diego Maradona, who played in Italy with Napoli between 1984-1991 and who owes an estimated 40 million euros in unpaid taxes said: "No one has been through what I have - they have been chasing me for 25 years."