It was supposed to be a formidable anti-evasion weapon, but it has now almost disappeared from the radar. The income meter has become "increasingly marginal in the overall strategy to combat tax evasion", writes the Court of Auditors in the latest report on the general state account.
Still, expectations were high. The “version 2.0” of the income meter saw the light of day in 2013. At the time it was said that the new system of the Revenue Agency would allow to track down thousands of tax evaders by comparing lifestyles and income on the basis of over 100 items of expenditure: from gasoline to boats, from jewels to pay TV.
At a technical level, the income meter can be based both on "accurate data", such as those obtainable from tax returns or bills, and on values obtainable from the tax registry. If the latter are not available, the tax authorities check the average expenses calculated by Istat and examined by geographical area.
In theory, the income meter should have produced a significant amount of additional revenue (as Il Sole 24 Ore recalls, there was talk of 741,2 million in 2011, 708,8 in 2012 and 814,7 million in 2013), but the numbers of the accounting judiciary tell a very different reality. In 2016, only 2.812 checks were carried out, with a drop of 52% on 2015 and even 92% on 2012.
The "financial results" of the income meter, as the Court of Auditors writes, stopped at 2 million euros. In the bracket that goes from zero to 1.549 euros of monthly income, violations were found in just over one out of 5 cases (21%), while "grand tax evasion" was contested in 11,5% of cases.
