In the decree approved by the Government last summer to combat the long waits in healthcare, a significant concession has been introduced: one flat tax at 15% on doctors’ overtime. In practice, white coats who work beyond their shift will see their taxes on extra services reduced. However, immediately after the approval of the decree, many Regions slowed down in applying the measure, also deciding that the tax discount will not be applied to night overtime, i.e. on those shifts that cause the greatest difficulties.
The doctors’ union points this out Cimo-Fesmed, reporting the grotesque situation to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Economy.
The two rules that the regions are not following
It all started last June with the approval of the decree on waiting lists, subsequently converted into law 107/2024, which introduced a tax incentive on extra services to encourage doctors to work beyond their shifts. A measure designed to reduce waiting lists, which should have been immediately operational, but which remained blocked in many regions.
According to monitoring by Cimo Lab, for example, Puglia, Emilia-Romagna, Calabria, Trentino And Molise they did not immediately apply the tax exemption, even though the law was already in force. In other Regions, the application has been patchy, as in Sicilywhere in half of the hospitals the tax discount was applied and in the other half it was not. The Local Health Authorities and the Regions have justified this situation by arguing the need for clarification on the application of the measure.
But this is not the only problem; in a document approved on 7 November, the Cimo-Fesmed doctors’ union highlighted that the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces has decided to exclude additional services carried out during night guards from preferential taxation.
Criticism of the union
The union, which brought this decision to light, reports that the inconvenience for doctors during these shifts is significantly greater: “If this interpretation were applied, it will be difficult to find doctors willing to carry out additional services at night.” Cimo-Fesmed also underlines that the doctors’ contract is very clear on this point: “night watch services” are considered among the services necessary to reduce waiting lists and, therefore, should also benefit from the 15% tax exemption provided for by law 107/2024.
“We have written to the Conference of Regions, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Economy to highlight our position and ask that the rule be applied correctly,” he says Guido Quici, President of the Cimo-Fesmed Federation. “Otherwise, we are ready to invade the courts throughout Italy with an avalanche of appeals: we will ask members to report any erroneous applications of the law to us”. Quici also criticizes the maneuver, recalling that on the eve of the tax exemption of the medical specific allowance had been promised, but “the draft of the Budget Law provides for an increase of only 17 euros per month. Now, there is even an attempt to put our hands in doctors’ pockets, asking them to repay huge sums for night shifts already carried out”, concludes Quici.
