Dolce & Gabbana to trial for tax evasion?

Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana may stand trial for allegedly failing to pay taxes on more than $1 billion in income.

The pair whose designs have been worn by the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Justin Bieber, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Bosworth and Kylie Minogue among others are accused of defrauding the Italian revenue agency and authorities say they failed to pay taxes on more than $1 billion in income.

The designing duo were indicted in November after being accused of setting up a holdings company in Luxembourg in order to evade high Italian taxes. Authorities have been investigating them for more than two years.

“Since when does one have to pay taxes on money one never actually collected? It’s an absurd demand based on a completely abstract calculation,” They had said in a statement in late 2010. “This higher taxable sum … is a virtual figure we have never received, the result of a theoretical accounting exercise.”

If convicted, Dolce and Gabbana could face a maximum sentence of five to seven years in prison.