Tax authorities: the ‘Trova Tu’ app simplifies 4,700 regulations

Administrative and criminal tax penalties. Minor tax liabilities. Tax justice. Payments and collection. Stamp duty and other indirect taxes. VAT. Income tax. Compliance and assessment. The tax simplification initiative focuses on the eight Consolidated Acts that will come into force on 1 January 2027. This reorganisation covers no fewer than 440 measures and 4,700 legislative provisions. However, this is the first key step outlined by the tax delegation initiated by Deputy Minister for the Economy Maurizio Leo, in the run-up to the Tax Code which, with the end of the parliamentary term approaching, is expected to be submitted to the Council of Ministers for preliminary examination as early as this month.

A reorganisation in which the ‘Trova Tu’ app (www.trovatu.finanze.gov.it), where ‘Tu’ stands for ‘Testi unici’ (Consolidated Laws), plays a key role as a search engine capable of helping taxpayers and professionals to translate the 4,700 ‘old’ provisions into the new Consolidated Laws. The search engine is available on the Department of Finance’s website and, as noted in a press release issued by the Ministry of the Economy, ‘enables citizens, professionals and businesses to locate tax provisions within the new Consolidated Texts with a single click, check for any repeals or amendments, and view side-by-side texts to compare the original wording with that resulting from the regulatory reorganisation’.

‘Trova Tu’ – as the Ministry of Economy and Finance always points out – was developed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) in collaboration with its technology partner Sogei, with the support of the Prime Minister’s Office (DAGL) and the State Printing Works and Mint (IPZS) as part of the Normattiva project.

With Trova Tu, “the implementation of the tax reform,” explains the Ministry of Economy and Finance, “is accompanied by a practical tool to make it easier to consult the regulations and help citizens, professionals and businesses navigate the new framework of tax legislation”. All this is part of an approach aimed at ‘overcoming the fragmentation of sources and making the legislation clearer, more coherent and more accessible’.

Professionals welcome the simplification and call for the current approach to be continued. The President of the National Council of Chartered Accountants (CNDCEC) Elbano de Nuccio states: “We welcome the introduction of Trova Tu, a tool that represents an important step towards a simpler, more organised and accessible tax system. For accountants, who are called upon daily to deal with complex and multi-layered legislation, being able to identify the applicable provisions more quickly, check for changes and compare texts provides tangible support for their professional work. During the process leading to the development of the search engine, several suggestions put forward by the National Council were incorporated. It is the result of institutional dialogue in which the profession actively contributed to the objective.” In particular, chartered accountants emphasise that they suggested the inclusion of a direct link to the Normattiva database, to enable users to view previous versions of the regulations consulted, and the introduction of a button to export or print search results.