Redditometro, Fi and Lega against Fdi: we have always been against it. Leo: no return to the old instrument

On thereturn of the redditometro there are diverging positions within the majority, in particular between Fratelli d'Italia on one side and Forza Italia and Lega on the other. And while the clash is taking shape, Economy Deputy Minister Maurizio Leo, a member of Fratelli d'Italia, explains that there is no return to the old redditometro.

According to Palazzo Chigi sources, Leo has agreed with the Prime Minister's Office to make a report to the next Council of Ministers on the content of the ministerial decree of 7 May 2024, which introduces limits to the discretionary power of the financial administration to implement synthetic assessment.

"Forza Italia has always been against the redditometro," emphasised sources in the Azzurri party asked about the possible use of the system that detects the presumed income to establish the taxes owed by taxpayers, as established by a decree signed by Leo. Among the Azzurri there are doubts about the measure and the terms of the measure are being verified, which, the same sources explained, 'would conflict with the measure of the concordato preventivo contained in the tax delegation'. "Are they putting the redditometer back in? I don't think so...'. This is how Fi group leader in the Senate Maurizio Gasparri responded to those who asked him for a comment on the news of the decree reinstating the tool that the tax authorities use to trace the presumed income of taxpayers-individuals.

The League also distanced itself from the solution. "I understand it is a measure made by Deputy Minister Leo so ask Fdi," said the League's group leader in the Senate, Massimiliano Romeo, regarding the measure on the redditometer. "I just find it a bit strange as a proposal, because we in the centre-right have always been critical of these instruments," the senator added.

After the distance taken by his colleagues in the majority, Leo made it clear that 'the centre-right has always been against the 'redditometer' mechanism introduced in 2015 by the Renzi government. The ministerial decree published in these days in the Gazzetta,' the deputy minister continued, 'finally puts limits on the discretionary power of the financial administration to implement the synthetic assessment, i.e. the possibility for the tax authorities to challenge the taxpayer's inconsistencies between purchases, standard of living and declared income. A power provided for by the tax system since 1973"- "In detail," continued the Deputy Minister of the Economy, "with our decree, we intervened to correct a distortion that was created in 2018, when the Conte 1 government abolished Ministerial Decree. 16 September 2015, the so-called "redditometro", of the Renzi Government, and had contextually established that a new decree should be issued with precise stakes to guarantee the taxpayer, so as to limit the inductive content of the assessment to a minimum, and always favouring the punctual data to guarantee the taxpayer. Unfortunately, that decree was never issued and, instead of favouring the taxpayer, a gap was created in the limits of the financial administration's action in the application of the synthetic assessment, introducing in fact a permanent income assessment mechanism without any limitation. After six years,' Leo concluded, 'the centre-right government has finally intervened and issued a decree, previously shared with the consumer associations, Istat and the privacy guarantor, which sets precise limits to guarantee the taxpayer and introduces, among other things, a compulsory double cross-examination. Thus, there is no return to the old redditometer but only more guarantees for taxpayers. In addition, the centre-right confirms its commitment to fight big tax evaders, in a context of total respect for taxpayers' rights'.