The Stability law, after the ok from the Senate, returned to the House where it obtained final approval: the Government text, which dictates the economic policy lines for 2015, was voted yesterday evening by a large majority. Here are the main changes to the provision.
80 Euro bonus
The Irpef bonus of 80 euros introduced by Legislative Decree 66/2014 for employees with an income of up to 26 thousand euros becomes structural. Montecitorio has also introduced the combination of the tax credit with the concessions granted to researchers who return to Italy and revised the income limits for the baby bonus. The allowance of 960 euros per year for each child born or adopted between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2017 will be granted if the family ISEE does not exceed 25 thousand euros. And it will double if the indicator stays below 7 thousand euros. Stability then allocates 45 million in 2015 for the granting of shopping vouchers of a thousand euros for mothers who have at least four children and an Isee of up to 8.500 euros. There are three conditions for accruing the right to the "bonus" and they are linked to the type of income produced, to the existence of a tax payable after making the deductions for work, as well as to the amount of total income.
Public payables
The extension to the whole of 2015 has been decided – but not fully operational as initially requested by M5S – of the compensation of tax bills by companies with non-prescribed, certain, liquid and collectible credits. The sums must be certified and cannot exceed the amount of the taxes entered in the register. The provision approved by the Chamber was supplemented with an extension of the offsetting of trade receivables claimed by companies from the Public Administration and tax debts. In particular, it was decided to extend until the end of 2015 – but not fully operational as initially requested by M5S – the compensation of tax bills by companies with non-prescribed, certain, liquid and collectible credits. The sums must be certified and cannot exceed the amount of the taxes entered in the register.
tfr
For workers in the private sector who request it, the advance of the severance pay in the pay slip is envisaged on an experimental basis in the period 1 March 2015-30 June 2018. As regards the tax regime of the quotas paid, ordinary taxation is envisaged without therefore the more favorable separate taxation envisaged on severance paid at the end of the career. The rate on the revaluation of severance pay was then raised from 11,5 to 17%. Unlike the first hypotheses, the government in the Senate has not changed this point.
Tasi and Imu
To avoid the maxi increase in house taxes in 2015, which would have come with the expected raising of the ceiling to 6 per thousand for Imu and Tasi (the ceiling of 2,5 per thousand for Tasi on first homes was valid only for 2014 ), the freezing of Tasi and Imu was decided. In practice, the extension to 2016 of the increases in the Imu and Tasi rates envisaged by last year's stability law. All while waiting for the new single municipal tax (local tax) to be established.
Regions
The institutions will suffer other cuts for 4 billion, to which must be added the 2,3 deriving from past measures. The main issue is health care, which is also valid for up to 80% of the Regions, where the ax will inevitably fall more heavily. Up to jeopardize the stability of the Pact for health, the levels of assistance right under the crisis, and the possibility of investing. With the risk then that, in view of the May elections, unpopular interventions in the polls will be slowed down.
Pensions
There is a ceiling on checks (including existing ones), which cannot, in any case, be higher than what would have been paid according to the calculation rules in force before the entry into force of the 2011 Fornero reform, even for those who have exceeded the old contribution limits . With a change already introduced in the Chamber, the penalties for those who retire early (with 42 years of contributions) are canceled even if they are not 62 years old. But this will only apply to those who meet the seniority requirement for access to pension treatment as at 31 December 2017.
Irap cut
The total deductibility from the IRAP tax base of the cost of labor for people hired on permanent contracts has now been made official. The tax cut changes its modality with respect to the Legislative Decree on the Irpef bonus, which set a cut in the rates (which from 2014 will return from 3,5% to the ordinary rate of 3,9%). For Irap subjects without autonomous organization and therefore without labor costs, there will be a tax credit, equal to 10%, with regard to the regional tax on productive activities. The measure should guarantee the mitigation of tax increases, starting with the abolition of the cut in the IRAP rate from 3,9 to 3,5%.
Games and bets
There are three novelties for the gaming world: an advance taxation of 500 million euros by Vlt and New slot concessionaires; the advance to 2015 of the tender for the assignment of the lottery game, with an expected revenue of 350 million in 2015. Lastly, pending the reorganization of the subject of public games, the subjects active as of 30 October 2014, which in any case offer bets with cash winnings in Italy without being connected to the national tote of the Customs and Monopolies Agency, under certain conditions they can be regularized.
Rai fee
The Rai license fee is frozen for next year, with the obligation to keep it at 2014 levels (€113,50). The measure, envisaged in the government's maxi-amendment, comes after the issue of Rai has repeatedly entered and exited throughout the approval process of the Stability law. At the beginning, to counter tax evasion, there was talk of the possibility of linking the license fee to the energy bill. Then the measure was set aside, given the complexity of the matter. The freezing of the license fee was adopted in view of an overall revision of the legislation on public television.
