Tax authorities: simpler VAT refunds for 460,000 businesses and self-employed people

After an uphill climb, there is always a downhill stretch. The climb towards tax compliance also brings with it a steeper slope for those who wish to try again. The package of incentives for the relaunch of the two-year preventive arrangement (CPB) reduces compliance burdens (and more) when claiming VAT refunds or offsetting VAT, direct taxes and IRAP. It does so with an eye on an audience of just under half a million self-employed individuals, businesses and companies subject to tax performance assessments (the ISAs). The ‘magnificent’ 460,000 to whom, following the amendments to the Omnibus Decree published on Tuesday 11 August in the ‘Gazzetta Ufficiale’ (Legislative Decree 148/2026) – together with the decrees on fiscal federalism and tax jurisdiction – the tax authorities are now giving special consideration to these ‘magnificent’ 460,000, with a view to securing a ‘yes’ vote for a further two years, thereby keeping them within the ‘reliability’ category.

In an attempt to entice potential ‘repeat offenders’ under the arrangement, one of the measures introduced focuses on the mechanism for the refund or utilisation of tax credits. This measure builds on one of the benefits made available from the very first enrolment in the two-year composition-with-creditors scheme and follows the path already charted when the sector-based assessments were replaced by the ISAs (although the thresholds were graded in the implementing measures according to a score ranging from 8 or 9 upwards) in an attempt to make it a tool to support compliance through a reward mechanism for the most diligent taxpayers. The leverage effect becomes even more evident in the case of VAT, where the increase in thresholds compared with the initial decision to join the CPB is almost 43 per cent for both offsetting and refunds, rising from 70,000 to 100,000 euros per annum in the event of renewal. Meanwhile, to carry forward credits relating to income tax (IRPEF or IRES) and IRAP onto the F24 form, the threshold is increased by 40 per cent, rising from 50,000 to 70,000 euros in the event of acceptance of the arrangement for a new two-year period.

This is no small advantage. Particularly where there are very large amounts of accrued VAT credits, the trade-off between tax compliance (achieved by accepting a higher taxable amount and tax liability under the CPB scheme) and simplification makes it easier to access a refund or to use that credit via the payment authorisation form. In effect, this translates into immediate assistance in recovering liquidity for business operations. This is because it allows businesses to bypass what is, in any case, an initial hurdle – put in place to protect the Treasury and to prevent tax evasion or, worse still, fraud – in order to access their VAT credits.

In essence, the measure amounts to the tax authorities placing their trust in the taxpayer’s reliability. This is the underlying logic by which the decision to include the provision in the Omnibus Decree should be understood; parliamentary committees strongly advocated for this, first through amendments during the conversion of last spring’s decree-laws and then through their opinions on the measure in question, to strengthen the incentive package for VAT-registered individuals who still agree to the two-year deal.

Whilst the main focus is on the amnesty for past tax liabilities (the special voluntary disclosure scheme covering the tax years from 2020 to 2023), which in this edition is reserved exclusively for those renewing their tax settlement agreement, other benefits may make the package as a whole more attractive. It includes, in fact, a reduction of as much as two years in the limitation periods available to the tax authorities to carry out assessments of both business or self-employment income and VAT. It also offers further relief in terms of financial outlay, allowing taxpayers to pay the amounts due – including tax balances and advance payments – in instalments without having to pay interest.