“The long installments of the tax bill known as Scrapping quinques have finally been included in the budget law. This is a very important social step and offers a real opportunity for millions of citizens who, despite having filed their taxes, have not been able to pay them. The act provides for payment of installments for up to nine years in equal installments and the end of the confiscation mechanism in case of failure to pay one installment. We are also trying, through maneuvers and amendments, to expand the scope of beneficiaries.
Currently, the measure concerns a large number of taxpayers: all those who have received a tax bill through December 31, 2023, according to the terms of the League’s bill, which I first signed, is kept in the Chamber and Senate. Scrapping allows you to recover the past and, at the same time, pay current taxes, thereby contributing to an increase in tax revenues for the current year. In this way it will be possible to reduce the tax burden, which in Italy is still too high, thereby easing the burden on families and businesses.”
This was announced by Alberto Gusmeroli (Lega), president of the Commission for Productive Activities in Montecitorio, at the Cnpr forum “Simplification, competitiveness and fiscal sustainability: where are we?”, promoted by the Welfare Fund of Accountants and Accounting Experts, chaired by Luigi Pagliuca.
Antonio Misiani (Democratic Party), vice president of the Budget Commission at Palazzo Madama, is skeptical: «We are still very far from the reforms defined as “epochal” by deputy minister Leo. The tax burden, which in 2022 when the Meloni government took office was 41.7% of GDP, increased to 42.8% in 2025 and will remain the same in 2026. Today, families and businesses bear a higher tax burden than three years ago, despite efforts to reduce taxes.
The budget law is also disappointing: it provides only a small cut in personal income tax of two points in the second group, with an impact of around 3 billion euros for 13.6 million taxpayers. The deduction is lower than the additional state revenue collected each year due to fiscal constraints. In essence, the State gives with one hand and takes back more with the other.
This slowed economic growth, which stopped at around 0.5%, too low to warrant the development and maintenance of public finances. Sharper policies are needed, including stable incentive programs for investment in innovative technologies. The government has reintroduced super and hyper depreciation, but with only 4 billion euros available, while more resources are needed for at least the three-year plan.”
According to Giorgio Lovecchio, Forza Italia MP from the Chamber’s Finance Commission: «Tax reform is one of the commitments made with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, it is a pillar of the country’s modernization. We have traced the initial structure with the enabling legislation and with the implementing decisions regarding Irpef, litigation and the relationship between taxpayers and the Public Administration.
The new budget law also aims at the same thing, namely easing the tax burden for workers and the middle class and reducing rates for lower-middle income people as a measure of justice. The chapters on simplification and aggregation still need to be completed, which is very important to make the system more efficient.
We are in line with Europe’s goal of lighter taxes, with no new taxes, and with stronger efforts against tax avoidance. But support is also needed for Italian companies, which are currently struggling with high costs and an unstable regulatory framework.
We do not need bonuses, but certainty and stability: IRES rewards for those who hire or invest, strengthened tax credits for Transition 4.0 and development contracts could really put Italian companies in a position to compete and grow.”
Alessandro Caramiello, M5 representative on the Parliamentary Commission for the Implementation of Fiscal Federalism, blamed the failure to reduce the tax burden: «Government forecasts show a level of tax burden equivalent to 42.8% of GDP in 2025 with stabilization in 2026, a slight increase in 2027 and a further decrease in 2028. We need to take a step back and look at 2023, a year in which tax pressures recorded an upward trend that unfortunately is not easy to stem at present. this. It is important to remember that, in economic terms, such a high tax burden means that most of the wealth generated by a country flows into the state coffers. In this context, the main question is whether we are really making progress towards lighter taxation for families and businesses, or whether we are faced with reading public reports that, although formally presenting positive data, do not amount to an effective reduction in the tax burden for those who live daily on average or modest incomes. Lastly, this dynamic is further complicated by the impact of the so-called “fiscal drain”, which erodes the purchasing power of taxpayers and partially undoes the announced tax relief measures”.
In the debate moderated by Anna Maria Belforte, the point of view of professionals was expressed by Mario Chiappuella, ODCEC Massa Carrara accountant and legal auditor: “For years the term ‘simplification’ has been misused without ever being translated into concrete actions. We, accountants, are in constant dialogue with the current government, but we are waiting for concrete signals in the interests of citizens, businesses and us professionals. If we want to guarantee the competitiveness of our businesses, we must immediately intervene at the fiscal level, also ensuring stability and continuity of certain steps, thereby enabling investment planning and process innovation”. The conclusion was entrusted to Paolo Longoni, advisor to the National Institute of Accounting Experts: «Italy does not achieve the goal of reducing tax pressure or fairness, with disproportionate taxation between low, middle and high incomes and the associated differences in flat taxes.
While there has been some progress in combating tax evasion, it is worth highlighting that these controls focus on known taxpayers, while many tax evaders are excluded. The real problem is that few people pay too much. It is not the tax system itself that is complicated, but the compliance regime, which must be simplified to make taxation fairer and more efficient.”
