Paying taxes is a civic duty of all citizens. With tax revenues, in fact, the State finances essential services for all citizens such as education, health and infrastructure. While tax evaders are in breach of an obligation, they weigh on the shoulders of honest taxpayers and hinder the country’s growth. For this reason they must be sanctioned and the Revenue Agency carries out continuous checks to discover them.
Sometimes, however, the state seems to have declared war on VAT numbers. Particularly to small merchants who make up the backbone of the Italian economic system. In this regard, the case of a very small company operating in a currently difficult context is emblematic. Even more so in the aftermath of a Prime Ministerial Decree that brings the catering sector to its knees. It is a small producer of wraps to which the State even contests the stuffing of its products. So let’s see what happened and here’s how far the Revenue Agency controls can go.
When tax officials improvise themselves as chefs
A Rimini company that prepares and sells wraps on the street has received a fine of 6,500 euros to be paid by 30 October. Not even to do it on purpose by the end of the first week of government-imposed restrictions. The first fault of the Romagna restaurateurs seems to be to prepare wraps of 120 grams, instead of 80 as suggested by the Treasury. In fact, it seems that the customers of the kiosk appreciate generously sized wraps, of about 120 grams each.
The recipe ofRevenue Agency instead it provides for a maximum weight of 80 grams per piadina. It follows an alleged disproportion with respect to the quantity of flour deducted. Which, for the tax authorities, means evasion. The company sometimes issues receipts for non-stuffed wraps. This habit also clashes with the tastes of inspectors who have glimpsed another hypothesis of tax fraud. The result is a hefty fine to be paid in a few days.
Here’s how far the Revenue Agency checks can go
We understood that during a check, the tax agents act as cooks. Therefore contesting recipes and uses of restaurateurs. This without ever having raised to this company even a penalty for a missed receipt. Understanding how to defend oneself from the exaggerated controls of the tax authorities is not easy, often requires recourse to the judiciary. Which could prove the entrepreneur right but only after long and expensive judicial procedures. In a context of serious difficulty like the present one, many companies may not be able to anticipate these expenses. Also having to face the new wave of lockouts ordered by the government. Yet another example of a strong tax authority with the weak, which we discussed in a recent study.
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