Legal certainty in taxation

Any element that creates uncertainty in the structure of corporate costs or in tax liabilities constitutes a serious obstacle to companies’ economic and financial planning. The Association’s action to limit such uncertainties has focused on three key areas.

WASTE TAX - THE DEBATE ON THE FIXED COMPONENT
Based on disputed case law interpretations, a municipality has requested that certain ceramic companies pay the “fixed component” of the waste tax (TARI) in relation to all areas excluded from taxation (industrial production areas and functionally connected warehouses) for previous years. This tax claim has no basis in either national or EU legislation and is at odds with the position expressed by the Ministry of Finance in various official guidance documents.

In order to challenge this claim — which, also due to its retroactive effect, would have serious consequences for companies’ financial stability — the Association is actively engaged, including through direct discussions with the Minister of Economy and Finance, in promoting the adoption at national level of an authentic interpretative provision capable of restoring certainty regarding the nature of TARI, the tax exemption of production areas and the costs that companies are required to bear.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TAX CREDITS – AN OBSTACLE COURSE
The tax credit for investments in research and development activities, introduced in 2013, has been affected by subsequent interpretative changes to the concept of “innovation process”, creating uncertainty for investments made between 2015 and 2019. In coordination with Confindustria, a settlement mechanism was ultimately secured (without interest or penalties) for cases involving undue credits, along with an innovative certification mechanism for credits meeting the required criteria.

The Association is now working to ensure the timely publication of the necessary ministerial Guidelines to make the credit certification process fully operational and to ensure that companies subject to a tax audit report (PVC) may also make use of this instrument in tax litigation proceedings.

ENERGY TAX CREDITS
Through its advocacy work, the Association aims to address the critical issues arising from the tax ruling (Reply No. 375/E/2023), according to which, in determining eligible expenditure, account should be taken of revenues (and only revenues) deriving from any hedging derivative contracts.
In order to avoid unnecessary and harmful litigation, the Association is working towards legislative action capable of restoring certainty to companies’ positions.