Receipts: the new cross-checks on debit and credit cards. What will happen

The goal, or rather the resolution, is set in black and white in a document prepared by the government and which is attached to the Structural Budget Plan (SBP) approved on September 27 last year, in which the economic directions between now and 2029 and where the path for the future is laid out to move budget for 2025. The Government of Meloniand especially the Minister of the Economy Giancarlo Giorgettialso focused on the fight against tax evasion to replenish the state coffers. Easier said than done, as some recent governments have tried, without much success (Executives Conte and Draghi, for example). The fact is that one of the tools to combat tax evasion that we want to strengthen is the control of receipts and “erroneous” declarations omitted. Yes, but how?

The new controls on POS, ATMs and receipts: what will happen

The crackdown on income must go through a “full connection of the information that comes from electronic payments and from the tax register”, we read in the document, so that tax authorities always have all the information and data. it is necessary to be aware of possible deviations. Central to this context will be the “processing of final consumption transactions”, ie those between buyers and consumers. The stated aim is to be able to improve the “traceability, timeliness and capillarity” of the information that reaches the Tax Office.

The electronic receipt, again

In simple words: we are back to talking about the “electronic tax receipt”, a device that has been discussed for some time, but has not yet seen the light and should enter directly into database of the Finance Agency, in the same way as it already happens with electronic invoices issued with VAT numbers. The ultimate goal is to reach a device where the information about the receipts is directly linked to the POS information used by the various commercial establishments. In short, a receiver that transmits the data directly to the Financial Group.

This way you will be able to check if the invoice or receipt is appropriate according to each payment made by debit or credit card. At present, however, much is left to the good will of those who fill out their tax returns. With the logical consequence that the Revenue Agency has no way of verifying whether a trader or restaurant has accounted for all the receipts issued, stating the income all in. The electronic receipt solves this issue upstream, as the data is sent immediately to the Revenue Agency in the taxpayer’s tax drawer.

The fight against tax evasion and the Pnrr

For years, politicians have been trying to establish similar systems to achieve more targeted control of income, also because the fight against tax evasion is one of the main points of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr). Over the years, various methods have been used to not only control but also promote the spread of electronic payments. In the time of Covid, in 2020, the second government led by the leader of the 5 Star Movement Giuseppe Conte had thought money back (then canceled in 2021 by Mario Draghi). In that particular case we were involved on the side of consumers: in some cases a 10% refund was given on what was spent through electronic payments, with a maximum ceiling of three thousand euros. The possibility of receiving a refund of up to 300 euros was therefore opened.

The compulsory POS, fines and regulations 2024

There has been much discussion on the rule that provides for special sanctions to make the POS mandatory for all commercial establishments, as well as professional employees. For each rejected electronic transaction – of any size, even very small – a fine of 30 euros is now imposed, to which 4% of the rejected amount must be added. Then, from this year, the sanctions have expanded: the so-called superbonus 2024 order extended a fine of up to 21 thousand euros for communicating omitted, late or incorrect POS data, related to the transactions carried out each day. from financial operators.

After the failed attempts by Conte and Draghi officials, Meloni’s government is now proposing the project to link transactions with electronic payments to the receipts issued. Let’s see if the proof plan will be successful this time.