Salvini wants ‘fiscal peace’ by scrapping citizens’ small debts

League leader Matteo Salvini believes Italians are hostages of the Tax Agency and that citizens’ small debts should be scrapped by asking only for partial payment.

Transport Minister and League (ID) leader Matteo Salvini is pushing for a fiscal peace between the tax authorities and taxpayers, which would provide for the closure of tax bills with outstanding debts of up to €30,000 through only a partial payment and the cancellation of the remainder.

According to Salvini, fiscal peace would be an “advantage for the state”, which would collect “a flood of billions to be used for salaries and pensions” as well as representing a “liberation for 15 million people”.

“I cannot think that a third of Italians, minors excluded, are people who have had a problem with the tax authority. They did not make it to pay everything they owed, they should be helped, not condemned”, said the minister.

“Total evaders as far as I am concerned, go to jail”, he added.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d’Italia/ECR) is also in favour of a softer tax system and has been heavily criticised for describing taxes as “state lace” during a campaign conference for local elections.

More recently, Meloni said her government wants a “tax ally of those who do business and produce wealth” and not “an enemy and almost vexatious tax system”.

But the Director of the Tax Agency, Ernesto Maria Ruffini, disagrees and vindicates the fight against tax evasion, specifying there is no “will to persecute anyone”.

“It is a matter of justice towards all those who – and they are the vast majority – pay taxes year after year […] Our job is essential for the functioning of the entire public machine, because if we want to guarantee the fundamental rights of the person indicated and protected in our Constitution, we need resources”, Ruffini said speaking at the ‘Let’s make Italy simple’ conference.

Ruffini recalled that in 2022 the Tax Agency recovered a record amount of over €20 billion in tax evasion, returned about €3 billion to the state budget, and blocked fraud worth almost €10 billion.

Criticism of the government came from the left-wing opposition, with the president of the Democratic Party (PD/S&D) senators, Francesco Boccia, saying: “Salvini and the right-wing are praising evasion”.

For his part, the president of the 5 Star Movement, ex-Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, commented: “These are devastating messages. Meloni and her clique are showing themselves incapable of dealing with the caravan and are looking for scapegoats”.

(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)