Tax system: reform enters the final stretch. The tax settlement scheme changes yet again

A final push for the tax delegation bill. The Government aims to finalise the implementation dossier in the Council of Ministers with a trio of measures: the Omnibus amending decree, the decree on the organisation of tax magistrates, and the long-troubled decree on local taxation, which – after a deadlock lasting over a year – gained fresh momentum just a week ago following the failure to reach an agreement at the Unified Conference. Although the timeframe for further amendments may extend beyond the initial implementation deadline of 29 August, the aim is to wrap things up now, bringing the total to 21 decrees brought to fruition, in addition to the eight Consolidated Acts already enacted. This is also with a view to the coming autumn, when key tax issues will be addressed in the budget bill (the last of this parliamentary term before the elections), whilst, as regards the delegated legislation, efforts will be made to finalise the work on the first Tax Code governing the Italian tax system.

The centrepiece of the latest ‘batch’ of decrees is, in particular, the Omnibus Bill, which is set to be expanded further following the clear guidance provided by the parliamentary committees in their opinions last week (see *Il Sole 24 Ore* of 30 July). In particular, this involves a further overhaul of the rules on the two-year composition-with-creditors arrangement (CPB) for VAT-registered individuals. The objective that the Government is preparing to support through a series of targeted measures focuses both on renewals for the first two-year period of application (2024–2025) and on those who have not yet opted in. For those due to renew, following the unsuccessful attempts in the amendments tabled during the conversion of the decree-laws last spring, a system of incentives is set to be introduced to encourage (re)enrolment. This includes exemptions from the compliance certificate requirement for offsetting VAT credits of up to 100,000 euros and direct taxes and IRAP credits of up to 70,000 euros, as well as exemptions from the compliance certificate or guarantee requirement for VAT refunds of up to 100,000 euros. This package would be supplemented by a two-year reduction in the time limits available to the tax authorities for tax assessments and the suspension of interest on instalment payments arising from tax returns. Meanwhile, last-minute deliberations could lead to the inclusion in the list of benefits – as requested in the comments from the parliamentary committees – the possibility of paying the balance and instalments of taxes due in instalments without interest, and a safeguard to allow for the expansion of the company’s shareholder base without triggering exclusion from or termination of the arrangement, provided that the new shareholders or partners earned an income not exceeding 35,000 euros in the previous year. However, the decisive impetus for returning to a ‘yes’ vote on the two-year agreement with the tax authorities is set to come from the ‘special voluntary disclosure scheme’, that is, the amnesty covering past tax liabilities, which also includes provisions for regularising tax affairs relating to the 2023 tax year.

For those with VAT registration numbers subject to tax assessments (the ISAs), one of the options available is the opportunity to correct omissions or errors through a supplementary tax return and voluntary disclosure, with a recalculation of the values set out in the settlement agreement, which would allow, thus, avoid forfeiture.

Then there is also the other ‘pillar’ of the new tax-payer relationship outlined by Deputy Minister for the Economy Maurizio Leo in his reform: cooperative compliance, that is, the collaborative compliance regime which aims to provide guidance to large enterprises (the eligibility threshold is currently €500 million in revenue or turnover and is set to fall to €100 million from 2028) and SMEs that choose to implement a tax risk management system (the tax control framework). It is precisely on this point that the request put forward by chartered accountants for a three-month extension – from 30 September to 31 December 2026 – for the certification of companies that submitted applications for access in 2024 and 2025 will be granted.

As regards corporate income, however, a further increase in the tax rate for the release of equity holdings in blacklisted countries is on the cards. The text of the Omnibus Decree, which has been submitted to Parliament for consultation, already provides for an increase from 21 per cent to 31 per cent, but the rate is now expected to be raised to 36 per cent. All this without forgetting that the Omnibus decree covers a range of issues, such as the new measures on the taxation of company cars, regarding which the Chamber of Deputies’ Finance Committee has called for the 50 per cent tax increase on vehicles registered for more than five years to be scrapped.