Tax relief - that is to say the effects of deductions, tax deductions, tax credits and coupons - lighten the tax burden of Italian taxpayers by 137,6 billion euros each year.
An important economic dimension that is clearly superior to tax evasion / avoidance which, according to the estimates of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, would amount to almost 110 billion euros a year. To say it is the CGIA Studies Office.
"Between tax bonuses and evasion - says the coordinator of the Studies Office Paolo Zabeo - the Government potentially has a treasury of almost 250 billion from which, for example, the 23 billion needed to avoid the increase in 'VAT. It is also true that the results from the fight against tax evasion are still very limited and it is unlikely that important figures will be recovered by the end of the year. But from the rationalization of the reliefs, however, it is possible to achieve significant cost savings to sterilize the retouching up of VAT. Clearing this jungle of subsidy measures is a moral obligation and an act of social justice, given that part of these tax advantages unjustly rewards even the wealthiest taxpayers ”.
The 137,6 billions of tax breaks are as follows:
· 61,1 billions of tax expenditures;
· 39,1 billions of deductions for employees, pensioners and the self-employed;
· 26,8 billions of tax relief on local taxes;
· 10,6 billion for dependent family allowances.
On the tax front, the CGIA reiterates a very important concept that, however, is struggling to make headway even in this part of the electoral campaign.
“It is plausible to hypothesize - affirms the Secretary of the CGIA Renato Mason - that with less taxes to pay, there would be a decisive emergence of the tax base that would allow the tax administration to concentrate its activities against the most insidious tax behavior. It should also be pointed out that in our country the structural reduction of taxes can only take place if the unproductive public spending is also reduced by the same amount. Otherwise we risk unnecessarily deceiving citizens who are asking for less taxes than ever before, especially on salaries and pensions ”.
If we return to focus our attention only on the measures strictly attributable to the item "tax expenditures", of these 513 concessions, the first 20 affect the total expenditure (equal to 46,1 billion per year) for 75,5 percent . This means that the expenditure for this package of subsidies is heavily concentrated on a few items.
In detail, what are the main benefits and who are the taxpayers who derive the greatest benefits?
The first item is the "Renzi bonus" which affects over 11 million employees with a medium-low salary level and costs the State almost 9,4 billion a year. The second measure is the 50 per cent deduction of the costs for building recovery that weighs on the public coffers for 6,8 billion euros. In third position, however, the owners of the first home whose cadastral income does not fall within the taxable income tax. These taxpayers benefit from a tax "discount" of 3,6 billion euros.
Finally, if we measure the tax breaks by economic sector, we note that the benefits in the 2019 amount to 20,4 billion for the housing sector and urban planning. Follow the policies for work with 14,4 billion, health protection with 4,6 billion and the competitiveness and development of businesses with 4,5 billion.
