According to the proponents, the cashback and the receipt lottery had to give a lethal blow to the evasion or, at least, drastically reduce the one due to omitted invoicing which, in relation to the total one, has an important impact. We recall that, according to the MEF, in Italy total tax evasion would amount to 105 billion euros per year. Both measures, unfortunately, were a flop, they didn't work. Or rather, they did not produce the desired results. To say it is the CGIA Studies Office.
Cashback, for example, was even "archived" by the Draghi government which, starting from June 2021, suspended its application. Primarily because there was no clear causal relationship between the incentives provided by the cashback and the reduction in tax evasion; secondly, because the cost of the measure, equal to 4,75 billion euros, appears to be significantly higher than the potential for recovery from tax evasion.
The receipt lottery, which entered into force on February 2021 last year, does not seem to have aroused great interest among taxpayers / consumers. According to the data of the Customs and Monopolies Agency, if in March 25 the monthly receipts associated with the lottery had touched the maximum peak of 5 thousand units, subsequently there was a constant contraction; last fall, the monthly number dropped to just over 2020. It should be noted that in 12 only of food and soft drinks, families made monthly purchases for XNUMX billion euros.
• There are 162 databases: the taxman makes them interact
From a purely theoretical point of view, it is as if we affirmed that our tax authorities have 162 cards that faithfully report the income capacity, consumption and level of wealth of each Italian. In other words, the tax authorities are certainly not lacking information on Italian taxpayers. On a daily basis, in fact, the Financial Administration receives and catalogs billions of information in 162 databases which, however, only a small part is able to “use”, in particular, to combat tax evasion.
It is true that these databases should soon begin to communicate with each other, that is, to be interoperable. However, if every year the people of tax evaders subtract 105 billion euros from the tax authorities and our 007s managed to recover it, in the pre Covid period, between 18 and 20, it means that, potentially, we know life, death and miracles on who is known to the tax authorities, while we groped in the dark towards those who are not, with the result that tax evasion thrives, excessively penalizing those who pay taxes to the last cent.
Let's be clear: these databases do not have the sole objective of allowing the tax administration to fight tax infidelity more effectively. They are tools that also serve to elaborate very complex economic and statistical analyzes, estimating the effects of fiscal policies in progress in a scenario characterized by increasingly interconnected phenomena. However, if tax evasion is one of the country's main problems, it is clear that these tools should constitute the essential toolbox for achieving a fairer and more equitable taxation.
• The tools available to combat tax evasion
In addition to the 162 tax databases, in recent years our tax administration has seen a significant increase in the number of tools available to combat tax evasion. In summary, the main measures available to tax officials are:
- abolition of banking secrecy;
- financial reports registry established by periodically sending the tax reports balances to the Tax Registry;
- with 22 thousand reports per second, Serpico, the super brainy at the head of SOGEI, receives countless information collected from taxpayers (payments, bank transactions, etc.). The Revenue Agency will also use advanced technologies to process them, exploiting the interconnections between the data contained in the Registry of financial reports and the other databases at its disposal;
- obligation to report monthly movements of cash equal to or greater than 10.000 euros to the FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit);
- Synthetic indices of fiscal reliability (former sector studies);
- profitometer (summary assessment on the basis of the comparison between declared income and expenses incurred);
- control methodologies for SMEs and self-employed workers;
- 117 (public utility number of the Guardia di Finanza);
- electronic transmission of fees to the Inland Revenue;
- electronic invoice;
- split payment in the case of billing to Public Administrations, these are the ones that retain VAT and pay it directly to the tax authorities;
- reverse charge mechanism according to which it is the buyer or the customer who pays the VAT;
- limit on the use of cash equal to € 1.999;
- payment obligation with traceable instruments of the deductible charges for personal income tax purposes (with the exception of health expenses) in order to be able to deduct them in the tax return;
- automated control of tax returns and correct payment of stamp duty;
- in the case of works exceeding € 200.000, the clients are obliged to verify the correct payment of the withholding taxes of the employees of the contracting companies;
- withholding tax made on bank transfers for the payment of expenses relating to interventions on the building stock and energy savings;
- the certification of the credits by a professional is required in order to offset tax debts with credits of an amount exceeding 5.000 euros;
- esterometer: electronic transmission (quarterly) to the Revenue Agency of data relating to economic operations with non-resident subjects;
- quarterly communication to the Revenue Agency of the data relating to the periodic VAT payment.
- Are we a people of tax evaders? Here is who pays the personal income tax
It is estimated that tax evasion in Italy amounts to 105 billion euros per year and that the income tax, the main tax paid by Italians, is for many the "tool" to "measure" the categories less faithful to the tax authorities. In the political-trade union debate, for example, it is now repeated as a mantra that almost 90 percent of the income tax on individuals would be paid by retirees and employees. We point out that this statement is completely misleading, because it implies that in Italy to pay almost all of the personal income tax would be only two categories of taxpayers: those mentioned above. In reality, those who keep repeating this obviousness are "victims" of a serious statistical / interpretative mistake. If, in fact, it is clear that over 82 per cent of personal income tax (and not 90 per cent) is paid to the tax authorities by pensioners and employees, this is because these 2 categories represent almost 89 per cent of the total. of the personal income taxpayers present in Italy. If you want to demonstrate the imbalance of the tax burden linked to personal income tax, the "correct" methodology consists in calculating the average amount paid by each taxpayer belonging to each of the 3 main types that pay the tax on individuals: self-employed, employees and retirees. Applying this method, from the latest available income data for 2018 (source: Ministry of Economy and Finance), it emerges that, on average, pensioners pay an annual net income tax of 3.173 euros, employees of 4.006 euros and entrepreneurs / self-employed for 5.741 euros. Let me be clear, tax evasion in Italy exists and is present in all professional categories, therefore, also among the self-employed and entrepreneurs. God forbid. However, it must be opposed wherever it lurks, without however making a prejudicial accusation against anyone.