The Council of Ministers has given the green light to two legislative decrees that implement the tax reform. The first concerns the reorganization of the gaming sector (final ok), the other the national collection system (preliminary ok).
Tax: more time to pay off debts
The government is overhauling the tax collection system with the aim of making it "faster and more efficient" and streamlining the mountain of tax debts.
As expected, the time required to pay tax debts is lengthening: we go from the current 72 monthly installments to a maximum of 120, therefore over a horizon of 10 years. In detail, for taxpayers with debts exceeding 120 thousand euros that document the temporary situation of objective difficulty, there will be the possibility of deferring the payment in a maximum of 120 monthly installments. Below the threshold of 120 thousand euros instead, a progressive increase in installments is envisaged every two years: for those who "document" the difficult situation, an increasing minimum installment is envisaged (which increases every two years, from 85 to 97 to 109) and a maximum of 120 installments; while for the taxpayer who simply "declares" that he is in difficulty, the increase starts from 84 monthly installments in 2025-26, progressively increasing up to a maximum of 108 installments in 2029. The Mef will evaluate whether to grant the 120 installments from 2031.
Tax: remove the tax records if it is not possible within 5 years
From 2025 it will start write-off (the “automatic discharge”) for bills not collected within 5 years. "Early discharge" is also provided for in cases of closure of bankruptcy or judicial liquidation or "the absence of assets susceptible to being attacked". Until the statute of limitations, however, the creditor body will be able to manage the compulsory collection of the discharged sums on its own or entrust it in concession to private entities with a public tender, or re-entrust them to the Revenue-Collection Agency for 2 years in the event that it becomes known of new and significant income elements of the debtor.
Furthermore, based on what was established by the Government, starting from next year, the bills must be notified to the creditor within 9 months from the assignment of the load and also comes the possibility of grouping the credits by tax code with the effect of having, for example, taxes and fines in a single folder.
Uncollected debts above 1.200 billion
These are interventions that aim first of all to "streamline" the current warehouse of uncollected items, one mountain of debt that has already reached 1.200 billion (they were 1.206,6 on 31 December). The aim is also to "prevent the creation of another similar one" in the future. An ad hoc commission has also been established which will analyze the situation and propose to the Mef "possible solutions to achieve the discharge of all or part" of the warehouse.
Leo: "Fight against crafty people, help those who want to pay but can't"
“The government will continue to fight against the crafty, while there is all the will to help those who want to pay but are unable to to pay off their tax debt in full,” said Deputy Economy Minister Maurizio Leo. “For this reason we will help taxpayers by increasing the maximum installments – he continued –, which will gradually go from 72 to 120 instalments”.
Automatic route for mini refunds
Automatic mini-refunds: the decree provides for automatic compensation for those who boast micro-credits up to 500 euros. The rule will come into force immediately after the final approval of the tax reform and will ensure that these mini-refunds have a preferential lane, which excludes checks of registrations by the Revenue Agency.
Stop using cash for online games
The second legislative decree, the one on reordering of online games, "definitely puts an end to the use of cash for online games", explains the Government, underlining that "whoever wants to top up more than 100 euros in cash will necessarily have to use traceable electronic payment instruments and safe." A measure is highlighted as "important in the fight against money laundering in which the Meloni government has been at the forefront since its inauguration".
Also comes the renewal of the Lotto competition, with an auction starting price that goes from 700 million to 1 billion. The objective of the decree is "to rationalize and update the remote public gaming system, increasing the value of the concessions to be assigned, bringing them to the correct market levels", explain government sources. The next step will be an intervention on the physical games network.
