Luke Cifoni
ROME – It is among the most eagerly awaited of the proxy tax: with one of the decrees that the government will adopt in the coming weeks should be decriminalized non-payment del’Iva.
A transition in part already announced by a recent ruling of the Constitutional Court and developed in the context of deep economic crisis of recent years. We talk about the situation where a taxpayer, typically a business owner, correctly stated the tax due but then fails to pay it. The reasons may be different, but normally have to deal with the difficulties of the case concerned: for example, that in some cases they have decided to use the money to pay their employees.
THE CASE OF HELD
So in the future, those who behave in this way will certainly have to deal with the tax authorities, who will try with the means at its disposal to recover the amounts due (and allowed by the statement); but shall in addition to face a criminal trial. The current rule requires instead a punishable offense with imprisonment from six months to two years in case of non-payment exceed the amount of fifty thousand Euros for each fiscal year.
The penalty was introduced in 2006 by the then government of the center-left part of a comprehensive package of anti-avoidance measures: the idea was that those who do not pay the VAT commits some sort of embezzlement, given the particular nature of tax is paid by the final consumer but passes through the various economic stakeholders before coming to the state. This approach, however, is not consistent with the actual management of the tax, which in our system except in special cases it is not cash. Will instead also punishable by the criminal law in the event of non-payment of withholding taxes, which the company retains workers by withholding agent.
In April, the Constitutional Court declared the unconstitutionality of the penalty penalty for non-payment, in respect of acts committed until September 2011 (when the law was changed). At this pronouncement was followed by the sentences of some judges who acquitted the accused taxpayer for the offense in question.
On the political front, last year in the current discussion of the delegation had voted for an agenda (initiated by Enrico Zanetti, then Vice President of the Committee on Finance and Economy Undersecretary today) committing precisely the government to decriminalize non-payment. And this approach has been maintained to this day in the work of the drafting of the decrees.
THE FINANCE POLICE
The commander of the Guardia di Finanza, General Xavier Capolupo, has said publicly in favor of the decriminalization of choice. While – even though there are no official position – is more cautious attitude of the Revenue. The government decided a few days ago to speed up the path to tax reform. So far it has been finally approved the decree only in terms of simplification, which also contains the pre-populated tax returns for employees and retirees, and those are before Parliament relating to excise duties and fees that will have to manage the cadastral reform of the cadastre .
From 20 November, the Council of Ministers is expected to approve and send to the parliamentary committees, in rapid succession, the provisions on abuse of law, fulfillment, collaborative (cooperative compliance) and the system of sanctions. To approve all the decrees there until March of next year, twelve months after the go-ahead to the delegation.
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