the rule must be removed – Corriere.it

The provision contained in the budget law which sets the ceiling above which merchants are obliged to accept credit and debit cards at 60 euros continues to cause debate. On Friday 2 December, Enrico Flaccadoro, chairman of coordination of the Joint Sections of the Court of Auditors, in a hearing in Parliament reported that «the raising of the payment ceiling and, in particular, the non-penalty of refusals to accept electronic payments of a given amount may be inconsistent with the objective of combating tax evasion envisaged in the Pnrr and, in particular, with the reform 1.12 of the Pnrr (Tax Administration Reform), in the context of which Mission 1 envisages specific measures aimed, at fight against tax evasion”.

Court of Auditors document

«In a long-term perspective – continues the document that the Court of Auditors presented to the House and Senate Budget Committees – the diffusion of electronic payments could allow the development, by the financial administration and also by other public administrations, services capable of drastically reducing the obligations of citizens and businesses”. As regards the vulgate according to which electronic payments involve greater costs than cash, according to the Court “this statement neglects the public and private costs associated with the use of banknotes and coins which the Bank of Italy’s analyzes have highlighted ».

The 5 Stars relaunch the «cashback»

The president of the 5 Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte, also returned to the question, attacking: “The government and the Minister of Economy are taking on a serious responsibility that we will pay in future years”. In a note, the deputies of the M5s Budget Commission let it be known that the Movement “will fight to cancel this step backwards and will present amendments to focus heavily on digital payments, recovering the ordinary cashback then launched by the Conte government and introducing the innovative cashback mechanism tax, which would allow taxpayers to have tax-deductible expenses incurred with electronic instruments immediately credited to their current account”.

Comparison with Brussels

In a note, Palazzo Chigi explained that discussions are underway with the European Commission on the subject of the threshold for the Pos obligation. The differences with Brussels concern the question of the traceability of cash and the fight against tax evasion. The rule on the Pos, in fact, adds up to the raising of the threshold on the use of cash which goes from one thousand to 5 thousand euros, from 1 January 2023. VAT in Italy is the most evaded tax and has a weight of over 30 billion euros. On the ceiling of 60 euros for the obligation to accept electronic payments “we will find a reasonable agreement” with Europe, said the deputy prime minister and minister of infrastructure and transport, Matteo Salvini, in recent days from the Messenger.