The majority is negotiating to reach a compromise on the text of the Budget, to be put to the vote in Parliament. The hearings began yesterday, with various parts of civil society asking for changes to the budget law. There is strong pressure to change the tax on dividends of companies with shareholdings under 10%.
However, the clash between the government parties remains over short-term rentals. Lega and Forza Italia continue to ask for a change to the flat tax rate. The rest of the majority, however, reiterate that there is little room to avoid increasing this tax.
Maneuver, clash over dividends
On the first day of hearings, strong opposition emerged from civil society, in particular accountants, for the increase in taxation of holding company dividends. The rule, included in the Maneuver, provides that the tax for dividends that holding companies obtain from shareholdings under 10% rises from just over 1% to the normal taxation on financial profits, 24%.
An increase considered by companies to be sudden and too high, as well as potentially chaotic for the contributions system. In defense of this position is Forza Italia, which has made the reduction of taxation for businesses one of the cornerstones of the interventions promoted in the text of the Budget law.
Everything remains unchanged, however, as far as the banks are concerned. After the attacks in recent weeks on sector associations by some members of the majority, the Government is now calling for the tone of the conflict to be lowered. The economic manager of Fratelli d’Italia, Marco Osnato, declared: “As far as we are concerned, on the banks what needed to be done has been done and this remains.”
The issue of short-term rentals
The most complex issue remains that of the flat rate tax on short-term rentals. The rule included in the Maneuver has already had a very troubled life, in just a few weeks since its drafting:
- the Council of Ministers approved a draft in which the dry tax rate was raised to 26% for all holiday homes;
- Lega and Forza Italia opposed it and announced that the rule would be eliminated;
- during the passage to the Court of Auditors the text was modified, bringing the tax back to 21% for those who do not use intermediaries.
The problem with this rule, at the moment, is that it also considers sites such as AirBnB and Booking as intermediaries. In practice, the increase in the flat rate tax will affect all holiday home owners. Lega and Forza Italia are trying to impose an expansion of the number of those excluded from the increase, but there are few funds available.
The expansion of Scrapping
The latest issue to emerge is that of the scrapping of folders. The rule was already in the balance during the drafting of the text in the Council of Ministers, but the League managed to impose it. However, the new tax amnesty has much more stringent revenue parameters than in the past. One above all: having submitted a tax return for the years you wish to “scrap”.
The League would be pushing to further broaden the range of people included and loosen these constraints. Even in this case, however, the Ministry of Economy and Finance would prefer to focus on greater attention to public finances to achieve the return to the European parameter of 3% in the deficit/GDP ratio as early as this year.
