Taxes continue to change their face. There are news about the “collection” by the Revenue Administration, implemented with a “piece” of a new tax reform carried out by the Meloni government. The Council of Ministers approved the tenth decree that closes the path of the reform presented as “zero cost”. In fact, as the Deputy Minister of Economy Maurizio Leo said, “more interventions will require more resources”.
But the latest measures will not be easy on the state coffers, with costs that could reach 2.5 billion euros over several years. The government plans to offset this by making improvements with two key innovations: “automatic write-offs” of tax bills and increased instalments for those with tax debt.
What’s changing in the new tax calendar: More installments for tax payments
The aim of the latest tax measure is to regulate the huge tax debt depot, which has reached a huge figure of 1 billion 200 billion, to prevent a similar occurrence in the future and to make collection faster and more efficient.
One of the key measures is a higher number of instalments for tax payments and is aimed at people who already have debts with the Revenue Administration. With the latest expected extension of the timeframe, we will increase the current 72 instalments to a maximum of 120 monthly instalments over a period of 10 years, over which payments can be spread out. The changes start from 2025: From next year’s tax calendar, but also in 2026, an extension of 84 monthly instalments will be possible for debts up to 120,000 euros, compared to the current 72 instalments.
In 2027 and 2028, it will be extended to 96 installments, and from 2029 to 108 installments. From 2031 onwards, it will be possible to postpone it even further and reach 120 monthly installments “upon simple request”. However, in order to receive the same number of installments for debts exceeding 120,000 euros, the taxpayer will have to prove objective economic-financial hardship, as required by current legislation, under the so-called “extraordinary installments”.
That’s why the operation is not without its public finances and is being done in stages. In fact, the technical report estimates that the total cost from 2025 to 2037, covered by the “tax cut” fund, will be around 2.5 billion.
How does “automatic collection” of unpaid tax invoices work?
What Deputy Economy Minister Maurizio Leo described as the “heart” of the provision is the “automatic deletion” of tax invoices that have not been collected within 5 years. It will come into effect from January 1, 2025: in practice, after five years of (unsuccessful) collection attempts, the agency will return the tax invoice to the institution that issued it.
The automatic discharge process will be carried out on 31 December 2030 for the cargoes to be delivered in 2025, and on 31 December 2031 for the cargoes to be delivered in 2026. At this point, the creditor institution may try to collect them on its own, perhaps by relying on private collection institutions and securitizing the loan (an innovation introduced after the parliamentary review).
Instead, a “truth operation” is being implemented on the backlog, as Leo describes it, with the establishment of a special commission that “continues with the analysis of the warehouse” and then reports to the Minister of Economy, proposing possible solutions with precise information and within deadlines.
Another innovation for businesses: “Rewards” in checks for the most virtuous
News also came from the Council of Ministers regarding business. With the definitive green light given to the decree law on the implementation of the annual competition law, controls on economic activities are being simplified according to the principle of “more cooperation”.
Companies classified as the “most virtuous” will be given a low smuggling stamp, which will mean that those who successfully pass the inspection will be given an “extra” period of 10 months, making it impossible to carry out different inspections on the same operator at the same time.
Minister of Public Administration Paolo Zangrillo summarised the intervention as follows: “We are moving from the logic of sanctions to the prevention of crimes based on mutual trust that encourages virtuous behaviour with a view to reward”.
Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
