Company cars and Plastic Tax, government turns around: "Substantial changes"

Conte confirms a substantial reversal of the government on the fiscal tightening on company cars for mixed use. A reduction in the plastic tax is also in sight

Qui Finanza – 26 novembre 2019

Present at the assembly of the automotive industry, the Prime Minister Joseph Conte took the opportunity to return to talk about company car taxes for promiscuous use, the raising of which was several times ventilated in the seat of budget law and much criticized by operators in the sector.

The government is ready, bearing in mind the findings of the automotive sector as a whole, a substantially revise the standard of company car maneuvers. “On the taxation of company cars as a fringe benefit – Conte explained – the rule was designed to favor car replacement, with a view to environmental sustainability but with a time frame – he admitted – which risks not favoring our system. The Government, in particular the Ministry of the Economy, is talking and working with all the subjects involved to reach a solution as shared as possible, which substantially revises and remodulates the measure".

The drain envisaged by the initial version of the Budget bill - on which the Government promises a change of course - consists in practice in the tripling of income in kind charged to employees (fringe benefit) for the possibility of using company cars even in their free time (the so-called promiscuous use). To date, the value of the fringe benefit that ends up in the paycheck is 30% of the annual cost per kilometer determined in based on the Aci tables for an annual distance of 15,000 km. Without an adjustment to the maneuver brought to the attention of the Senate from January 2020, the levy on an average car would go from 600 for almost 2 thousand euros.

The first changes in this regard were put in place by the Democratic Party, proposing a revision of the tax thresholds, going down to 15% for electric and hybrids and 40% for cars with emissions up to 95 grams.

Of course there is the usual problem of covers, given that changes are also expected on the front Plastic tax. "We have already found most of the necessary sums, we are in the final straight and this is very positive news", said the Prime Minister during a forum broadcast on his Facebook profile.

Conte explained that on these two measures “we are working at the Ministry of the Economy to absolutely lighten their impact, because we have realized that they present critical issues. In my opinion, it is the strength of a government to take note of the critical issues that some measures can cause. Measures that are also right in principle, so the aim is to promote the energy transition and the Green New Deal, but if we get the timing wrong, if we get the wrong timing, there will be negative repercussions for businesses that we want to avoid” .