It promoted itself as a “zero tolerance” government, but implemented more than 17 tax amnesties in less than two years. The manager forgave part of everything for the bad habits of the Italians: tax bills, traffic fines and even hidden profits made with cryptocurrencies were scrapped. An amnesty package was launched last financial year to accompany initial investigations into alleged tax evasion through to possible appeal in court. There was even time to approve the “save football” law to protect football clubs from debts.

Moreover, the vocabulary used by the majority leaves no room for doubt. “Words are important,” Nanni Moretti said in a famous scene from the movie “Palombella rossa”. And those of our rulers are clear. For months, Salvini and Meloni continued to use terms like “peace” or financial “ceasefire” as if a war was ongoing. Or they talk about “friendly taxes” as if asking for the collection of taxes owed is a hostile act.

Last May, our prime minister went so far as to describe the fight against tax evasion as “state protection”. “The fight against tax evasion takes place where tax evasion actually happens: big companies, banks, VAT fraud; instead of fighting tax, not the small trader you go to ask for state protection money because you want to hunt for big bonuses. Escape,” Meloni told Catania on 26 May. at a rally held in .

To reiterate the concept, the government also increased the possibility of using cash by up to €5,000 (previously the threshold was €2,000) in the last budget, despite evidence that it could encourage tax evasion.

And there is no trace of the famous fight against tax evasion by multinational corporations. However, the famous tax on banks’ extra profits, floated with great fanfare, turned out to be merely a puddle of propaganda value. Tax cuts continue unabated.

From “Italians first” to “Business and self-employed people first”

The latest innovation is the so-called “biennial pre-emptive agreement”, a tool included in the 2024 budget. Starting next April, the Revenue Administration will offer payments to millions of VAT numbers and freelancers based on information held about individual taxpayers. If you accept the tax base, the company’s or individual’s earnings are frozen for two years, even if they increase (changes are only foreseen for income increases exceeding 30%). Not only that: During this period, tax authorities will not investigate those who approved the proposed payment.

To participate in the composition with creditors, you need to have precise parameters; First of all, you need to report at least a score of 8 on the Isa report card, which stands for synthetic financial reliability index. It is a tool used by tax authorities to facilitate the fulfillment of tax obligations and encourage the spontaneous generation of taxable income. However, it is also possible to integrate the declared data yourself to return to the specified score. With this measure, the administrator expects to recover 760 million euros in tax revenue, although experts are no less surprised.

According to the majority, this measure is a step towards the famous “fiscal peace”, a myth that the entire right has been discussing for the last 30 years. It’s a shame that employees have to pay taxes down to the last penny in case of salary increases. Of course, there is nothing wrong with representing a particular class or social category: it is the mainstay of democracy. It would be enough not to claim to represent “all Italians”. And do not divide the country into victims and cunning people, as has been done for several years.

If the only “smart ones” are the poor

Yes, because evaluation is cultural rather than political. In the universe of the Italian right, there seems to be an irreparable gulf between those who “create wealth” and those who squander wealth and live at the expense of society. It’s a simple and grotesque narrative, but one that pays off in terms of choice. Entrepreneurs and the upper or middle-upper classes are forgiven for everything, but almost nothing is forgiven for those who are struggling.

While it is talked about “financial peace” and taxation as “protection money of the state”, it is not a coincidence that citizens’ incomes are bombarded first verbally and then politically. A welfare tool that is certainly flawed but which, as new Istat data confirm, constitutes an essential lifesaver for millions of Italians who have now returned to a state of absolute poverty. But its buyers are described as “couch slackers”, “parasites” and “people living on government benefits”.

While allegations of so-called fraud committed by people who received citizens’ income for a long time were persistently voiced, supporters of “financial peace” also made various insults and allegations against those who received it. Giorgia Meloni described it as “state methadone”, while Minister Salvini wanted a “control room over the income of shrewd citizens” in 2021.

It’s a shame that reality is so different from its representation. According to the findings of the Guardia di Finanza, the total of contributions unfairly received in relation to RDC from 2019 to the first half of 2023 was 505 million euros. However, tax evasion amounted to 99 billion euros in 2022 alone; This amounted to four financial maneuvers. But the main problem for the government remained the income of citizens “lazy” and “smart” ones. Problem of perspective.

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