IRS, Cafes on alert for 730 (and more): retroactive cut in funds

The tax assistance centres (Caf) are against it and are protesting against the retroactive cut in fees outlined in the Budget Law 2026 (which envisages a cut of EUR 21.6 million) and implemented by the Ministerial Decree on the Economy of 29 April published on Saturday in the 'Gazzetta Ufficiale', calling for the launch of 'a constructive dialogue with the institutions'. The measure (see what has already been anticipated by 'Il Sole 24 Ore' of 1 and 5 May) establishes that the resources for compensation to Caf and qualified professionals may not exceed the limit of just under 195.3 million euro "starting from the year 2026, in relation to activities carried out in the year 2025". And, in the event that as a result of 'the unit fees' the total amount of the sums due is higher than the annual expenditure limit, 'the amounts due to each entitled person are proportionally reduced'.

A mechanism with an effect on tax assistance activities already performed. 'There is a critical element,' comments Giovanni Angileri, president of the Cafés' council: 'The application affects services that have already been carried out and concluded, thus configuring a retroactive effect. As the note circulated by the council then points out, 'the activities relating to the 2025 tax returns were in fact planned, organised and implemented by the Cafes on the basis of a previously defined regulatory framework and resources'.

The council points out that 'on the occasion of the approval of other similar measures, similar hypotheses of retroactivity were explicitly ruled out following the observations that emerged in the debate'. This is also why an institutional interlocution with both parliamentarians and government representatives was promoted right from the approval stage of the Budget Law, even then during the Milleproroghe: 'The amendment relating to Cafes remained under discussion until the decision to resort to a vote of confidence and was then transformed into an approved agenda'.

But there are two aspects that the Cafes are keen to emphasise. On the one hand, the role they continue to play: 'Issuing the conformity certificate entails assuming responsibilities, including financial ones, in the event of errors, with a level of exposure that has no equivalent in other areas of intermediation. This translates into an extremely complex day-to-day activity, which requires timely checks on a massive amount of documentation'.

On the other hand, there is the pre-filled effect that is evoked in the preamble of the implementing decree to point out 'the increase in the number of declarations accepted without the contribution of changes by taxpayers'. The Cafes, however, repudiate the implication that their role has been reduced: 'The vast majority of pre-filled declarations in fact require changes or additions, confirming the centrality of the Cafes' contribution to the system'.