Artist Behind The Iconic 'Wall Street Bull' Statue Settles Tax Evasion Case In Italy

The artist behind the famous bronze statue of a charging bull near Wall Street seen as symbolising an aggressive financial optimism has settled a tax evasion claim against him in Italy.

Italian-American sculptor Arturo Di Modica will have to pay 900,000 euros ($1.2 million) to the tax agency, which accused him of failing to declare five million euros in revenue and not paying 600,000 euros in value-added tax.

The payment will put an end to the dispute and allow Di Modica "to concentrate on his artistic activity in New York," his lawyers Dario Valastro and Giuseppe Pettinato were quoted by Italian media as saying on Tuesday.

The tax agency had claimed that while Di Modica was formally resident in New York, his main economic activities were in fact concentrated in his hometown of Vittoria in Sicily so he should pay taxes there.

New York-based Di Modica unveiled the bull sculpture, which stands 3.4 metres (11 feet) tall, in 1989 and it has become a popular tourist attraction. He has since installed similar bull statues in Amsterdam in Shanghai.