Tax disputes: a recruitment drive for 177 new tax judges is on the way. An increasing focus on digital solutions
Following the 173 magistrates set to take up their posts, Deputy Minister Maurizio Leo has announced a new recruitment drive. Online proceedings, a threshold of €10,000 for single-judge courts and a database of judgments: the reform of the tax justice system is gathering pace
by the Rome Editorial Staff
Key points
- Leo’s reform: digital proceedings and a €10,000 threshold for single-judge trials
The tax judiciary is being strengthened. Following the 173 successful candidates ready to take up their posts – in addition to the 22 judges transferring from other judicial bodies – Deputy Minister for the Economy Maurizio Leo has announced a new recruitment drive for a further 177 judges. The announcement was made at the conference ‘Taxation and Justice: a possible balance’, hosted in Palermo on 6 June by the association Io Pubblico – Jus Publicum.
Leo’s reform: digital proceedings and a €10,000 threshold for single-judge trials
In a video message, Leo outlined the reform of the tax proceedings: communications via certified email, digital documents, remote hearings, the end of mediation, and the extension of conciliation to the Court of Cassation. The most significant change came from the PNRR decree: from 2 May, the jurisdiction of the single-judge court has risen from €5,000 to €10,000.
Meanwhile, the database of tax judgments on the merits has been online since 2024, pending its extension to include rulings by the Court of Cassation.
Electronic tax proceedings: what’s changing under Sirianni
On the technological front, Fiorenzo Sirianni, Director-General of the Tax Justice Department, has announced the completion of the ‘communication cycle’: a notification on mobile phones alerts users that a certified email has been sent by the registry. The limit on file sizes for uploads in the electronic process has also been raised from 10 to 50 MB. A separate chapter is dedicated to the secretariats, described as the ‘heart’ of the organisation: there are 101 organisational posts and 13 highly skilled professionals operating across the country.
The overarching theme was set out by the president of the organising association, Enzo Priore: citizens and the tax authorities are not adversaries, but share a common interest in the stability of the system. This mutual trust remains below the OECD average in Italia, and the reform aims to rebuild it.
