The institution provided by Art. 2, paragraph 1, D.L. n. 16/2012, so-called “Remissione in bonis” does not heal the failure to pay the amount due in order to extend the relief for an additional five years.
Through the institution of Remissione in bonis, taxpayers can rectify the late or non-submission of communications that give access to tax benefits or optional regimes by the deadline for filing the first useful return.
Specifically, the mentioned Art. 2 provides that the possibility of availing of tax benefits or access to optional tax regimes, subject to the obligation of prior notification or other formal requirements that have not been timely fulfilled, is not precluded if the violation has not been ascertained or accesses, inspections, audits or other administrative verification activities of which the offender has formal knowledge have not been initiated.
That being said, by Interpello (cfr. Risposta n. 223 of Feb. 22, 2023) the petitioner, who is resident abroad and registered with the Registry of Italians Resident Abroad (AIRE), reports that he and his wife and minor child have been back in Italy since September 2016 and have taken advantage of the Impatriati workers’ Scheme (Art. 16, D. Lgs. n. 147/2015) since the 2017 tax period.
The rule, as mentioned, provides for workers with at least one minor or dependent child or who purchase or have purchased a home in Italy, the possibility of applying the special regime for an additional five tax periods.
In both cases, income produced in Italy is taxable for only 50 percent of its amount, which drops to 10 percent if the taxpayer has at least three minor or dependent children, including in pre-adoptive foster care.
The option for the extension provides for the payment of an amount equal to 10 or 5 percent, depending on the case (number of dependent children and house purchase in Italy) of the tax-advantaged employment and self-employment income produced in Italy in the tax period preceding the one in which the option is exercised.
The modalities for the application of the extension of the scheme were defined in the Provvedimento del Direttore dell’Agenzia delle Entrate of March 3, 2021.
The mentioned Provvedimento states, among other things, that the payment of the amount required to finalize the option must be made by June 30 of the year following the year in which the first period of use of the Impatriati scheme ends.
Returning to the interpello, the petitioner, despite being eligible for the extension points out that, “due to a mere clerical error,” he did not make the payment of the amount necessary to perfect the option, as he should have done, by June 30, 2022.
That said, he asks whether in order to rectify the situation and not lose the extension of the reduced taxation he can resort to the institution of Remissione in bonis.
According to the Agency, failure to pay the amount due by June 30, 2022, disqualifies the petitioner from the possibility of extending an additional five years of the Impatriati scheme.
In fact, he cannot remedy the “forgetfulness” either through the “Ravvedimento operoso” (voluntary correction of omissions or irregularities committed both when completing and filing tax returns and when making payments with the application of minimal penalties compared to the ordinary ones) – as stated in previous answers (see Risposte ad interpelli n. 371/2022, 372/2022 and 383/2022) – nor through recourse to the aforementioned institution of Remissione in bonis (a rule that, as mentioned, under certain conditions, leaves open access to the “lost” favorable regimes for defaults of a formal nature).
In fact, the Agenzia delle Entrate clarifies that it is clear that the failure to pay, by the deadline of June 30, 2022, the amounts due to continue to take advantage of the “impatriate” regime is not attributable to a “formal” fulfillment, as provided by the article governing the Remissione in bonis and, therefore, the petitioner will not be able to regularize the situation through this institute.
In conclusion, given the impossibility of rectifying any omissions and delays, it is always advisable to be clear about the duration terms of the Impatriate Regime, and pay particular attention to the date of arrival in Italy, especially if it straddles 2 different tax periods (183-day rule for tax residence).
Dott. Francesco Barillaro April 7, 2023
(Source: Agenzia delle Entrate)