The Internal Revenue Service recently published seven new FAQs that offer important clarifications on the agreed biennial budget (CPB). This tax instrument, introduced to encourage taxpayer compliance, continues to raise doubts, especially regarding advance payments, substitute taxes, access conditions and causes of forfeiture.
Thanks to these new answers, it is now possible to better understand how to manage credit surpluses and payments, but also what are the causes that can lead to forfeiture from the subsidized regime.
Let’s look at the main points in detail.
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Conditions of access to agreed biennial budget
A crucial aspect clarified in the recent FAQ concerns the conditions that allow access to the Biennial Composition with Creditors (CPB). The Revenue Agency has specified that the application of the Synthetic Indices of Fiscal Reliability (ISA) represents an indispensable condition.
But what exactly are these ISAs?
ISAs are statistical-economic indicators that measure a taxpayer’s fiscal reliability. Only those who are subject to the application of these indicators can join the CPB. This automatically excludes those individuals for whom ISAs have not been approved, such as some categories of self-employed workers or businesses with sector specificities.
In particular, partnerships between professionals (STPs), which generate business income, can also join the CPB, but only if their revenues and income are subject to ISAs. It was also clarified that, for joint-stock companies that opt for the fiscal transparency regime (pursuant to articles 115 and 116 of the TUIR), any changes in the shareholding structure do not prevent access to the CPB.
In practice, changes in members are not relevant for the purposes of exclusion from the regime, except in the cases provided for by Article 5 of the TUIR, which concerns partnerships and professional associations.
A particular case of exclusion from the CPB concerns the transfer of the business of a sole proprietorship to a company. This operation determines the cessation of business activity, a condition which automatically makes it impossible to access the agreement.
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Causes for forfeiture of the two-year preventive agreement
Another fundamental aspect covered in the FAQ concerns the causes of forfeiture of the Biennial Composition with Creditors. The Revenue Agency has clarified that failure to pay the sums due does not automatically lead to the forfeiture of the benefit. In fact, it is possible to avoid forfeiture by resorting to active repentance, as long as this occurs before the communication of the outcome of the automatic control provided for by article 36-bis of Presidential Decree 600/1973.
This means that if a taxpayer has not made the required payments, but manages to regularize his position through repentance, maintaining timeliness with respect to the Agency’s communication, he can retain the right to the benefits provided by the CPB.
However, it is essential that the regularization occurs before the taxpayer receives notification of the outcome of the automatic tax audit. This opportunity to heal your situation is a key element in avoiding the loss of benefits.
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Income subject to the two-year preventive composition agreement
Finally, the Revenue Agency also provided clarifications on calculation of the subject income of the Biennial Composition with Creditors, especially for taxpayers in the flat-rate regime. According to the provisions of article 28 of the CPB decree, the income proposed for the purposes of the agreement must be considered gross of mandatory social security contributions.
This means that, when determining the income relevant for the composition, social security contributions must not be deducted, thus affecting the overall calculation of the taxes due.
This clarification is particularly important for those who operate with the flat rate regime, as the gross income on which the substitute tax is calculated can be significantly different from the net income actually received, taking into account the mandatory social security contributions that must still be paid.
