Form 730, more lines to fill in: 19 pages (and 168 instructions)

In 33 yearsthe 730 form has grown from 5 to 19 pages, while the instructions have increased from 12 to an impressive 168 pages (including the appendix and tables). An evolution - that of the 'length' of the most used income declaration - that reflects the continuous enrichment of this instrument, but certainly does not simplify its rules. Simplification, if anything, is entrusted to the digital infrastructure of the pre-compiled declaration.

A reconstruction by Caf Acli on the forms used from 1993 to the present day reveals the progressive increase in the number of pages: compared to the year in which the 730, designed as a simplified declaration for employees and pensioners, made its debut, the length of the form has practically tripled. The instructions this year touch the record 168 pages. And again, better illustrating the complexity that the processing and calculation process of the 730 has reached, is the Fiscal Circular for the liquidation and control of the model: created in 2010 and used by software houses for the development of the applications used by Cafes, it has gone from the initial 213 pages to the current 526.

The 730 form, first published in the Official Journal by decree of the Ministry of Finance and then (since 2001) by order of the director of the Revenue Agency, until 2012 never exceeded eight pages (plus 84 of instructions) and its length had remained fairly stable. In recent years, the number of squares and lines has then grown considerably: the platea of potential users of this declaratory model has been expanded in recent years, with the inclusion of certain income types previously reserved for the income model. In addition, the explosion of tax deductions (particularly building bonuses, but not only) has then contributed to the increase in documentation.

Because of the way the 730 form is structured (basic form to be filled in with assets and expenses, the choice of 2-5 and 8 per mille, the list of documents submitted and the settlement statement), as the final outcome of the declaration procedure it seems necessary to print out the entirety of the pages (and not just the completed ones) for each taxpayer. This has made paper printouts extremely wasteful - and environmentally unfriendly - for intermediaries, whose offices are then overwhelmed by archives. It goes a little better for taxpayers who choose the pre-filled do-it-yourself, who could simply save the file as a pdf, but will have to make sure to 'save' the copy properly.

The lack of dematerialisation is only a side effect. The 'chronicle' of this complexity is contained in the Circular for the Settlement and Control of the Form, which describes in detail the instructions for filling in and the necessary calculations (to define the tax and advance payments, for example): it is the document to be followed by withholding agents and intermediaries.