Paolo Gaeta, a certified public accountant expert in trusts and estate planning, explains ta We Wealth the cadastre reform
Few things in Italy always keep the public’s attention very high. Among these, without a doubt, is tax reform.
And indeed, for the current year, numerous interventions on the tax front have engaged and will engage the legislature. Many taxpayers, in light of the last few days’ news, are relieved in realizing that the reform of the cadastre will not affect their pockets in a particularly challenging way, unlike what, at least theoretically, had been projected at the beginning of the year. An agreement was reached about eliminating any reference (in the text of the cadastre reform) to the dual system, with regard to the Imu and the existing cedular regimes, which will not be affected. In addition, the updating of annuity regulations will not include any innovations of a patrimonial nature. But that is not all. Numerous aspects involving taxation are in the process of being changed.
To make the point, We Wealth interviewed Paolo Gaeta, an accountant based in Naples and Milan who is an expert in trusts and estate planning, among other things.
The cadastre system is changing face. What will change? What should taxpayers expect?
Land registry reform is happening this time. It isn’t tolerable that the state does not know the ownership and composition of real estate and land on its territory. Over a million properties are not surveyed, and who knows how many cadastral annuities need to be updated. Being able to map the territory adequately is essential because it offers the possibility of using objective and fairer criteria for measuring the tax base. But there should be clarity about updating the data and the taxes that will be wanted to be applied to these new data; if we continue, as we do today, to reason on incomplete and old data, we will persevere in the direction of growing inequalities.
Let’s come to Irpef and Irap. What are the main changes?
The Irpef reform operates on a wide range of taxpayers. Households with children and taxpayers with low and medium-high incomes should benefit the most. A reform that costs the state 13 billion, including 6 billion for the single universal allowance that has already been introduced. Let us hope that today’s highly differentiated local surtaxes will maintain these tax savings. Another exciting topic is IRAP, which should no longer be applied to individuals with commercial activities, arts, or professions. Let us hope that this applies to associated professional firms, unlike what we read today.
Tax and technology: The legislature intends to strengthen policies to combat tax evasion on the ridge of this pairing. What is it all about?
Artificial intelligence systems are now everywhere in our lives, starting with the smartphone. Innovative applications in the coming years will be disruptive in many areas, such as banking, healthcare, cybersecurity, management, and corporate finance. In this scenario, Mef’s idea is to ferret out evaders with software that has access to lots of data and learns to recognize an evader by their complex behavior. It will get there. These tools may be helpful for those who have to prepare an assessment. However, it will take years, and the effort will have to be made to implant these systems in a more efficient structure than the current one so they can be genuinely effective.
