Superbonus: the ten-year deferral is devastating for businesses and professionals

Businesses and professionals in the technical sector are calling for the removal of the measures included in the budget bill relating to superbonus. The call comes from the National Council of Engineers, the National Council of Architects, the Inarcassa Foundation, Inarcassa and OICE. For all these bodies, Article 37 of the Budget Bill, which distributes over ten years the offsetting of 20 billion in tax credits, ‘seriously jeopardises the liquidity of operators in the sector and undermines legal certainty’.

The chairpersons of these associations and organisations explain: ‘We take a firm stance against this measure, which affects receivables that have already fallen due, arising from professional services and work carried out in previous years, unilaterally altering the financial terms on which businesses and professionals have planned their activities and entered into financial commitments. This is not merely a tax deferral, but a substantial alteration to the economic and financial stability of the operators concerned’.

Above all, it becomes clear that the whole the supply chain is heavily affected by this new development: ‘For many businesses, engineering firms and self-employed professionals – architects and engineers – receivables represent the consideration for work already carried out, invoiced and accounted for, on which tax obligations have been fulfilled. Changing the deadlines now means affecting economic decisions that have already been made and obligations that have already been finalised.”

The joint statement goes on to say: ‘Even more critical is the economic mechanism underlying the provision: in order to improve its cash flows, effectively passes on to businesses and professionals in the technical sector the financial cost of the deferral. We therefore call on the Government and Parliament to consider scrapping this provision, which clearly undermines the credibility of the commitments made by the State’. In short, ‘alternative solutions must be identified that do not penalise creditors and do not jeopardise their financial stability’. To this end, there is a need for ‘urgent dialogue with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and with the relevant parliamentary committees involved in examining the draft Budget Bill’. Meanwhile, politicians are also raising the issue: “I welcome with great interest the appeal made by the technical professions to the Government and Parliament,” says Lega MP Andrea de Bertoldi.