It is an instrument of inter-generational equity
It’s a shame, we add, because it could be a less distortive social equity tool than income taxes. «The example of the European countries most similar to us suggests that increasing the revenue deriving from this type of tax is possible. Among other things, before the reform introduced by the Amato government in 2000, the taxation of inheritances and donations was much higher in Italy too”, adds Scinetti. The inheritance and gift tax currently in force in Italy applies to all inheritances and donations between living persons, with different rates and exemptions depending on the degree of kinship between those who make and those who receive the transfer of assets:
For transfers in favor of the spouse or direct relatives (children,
grandchildren, parents) the rate is 4 percent of the value received (al
net of any debts), but each beneficiary has a deductible of 1
million euros (i.e. does not pay any tax if the sum transferred
is less than 1 million)
The international debate
This is why the position of Marco Cerrato, partner of the tax firm Maisto e Associati, is interesting, highlighting how in the last two years a heated debate has opened on the possibility of reevaluating similar forms of taxation, at least for holders of significant assets. Cerrato refers for example to US President Joe Biden’s proposal to tax the incomes of those with assets exceeding 100 million dollars at a minimum rate of 25%, to the ongoing collection of signatures for a proposed community directive for a wealth tax aimed at financing the ecological transition, up to the report on global tax evasion by the EU Tax Observatory which proposes a minimum tax to be levied annually at a rate of 2% on assets exceeding 1 billion euros (here is his comment on the non- dom currently in use in Great Britain).
The cadastral value of the properties is not real
Scinetti observes instead that «the structure of the current Italian gift and inheritance tax is rather “generous” compared to that of other European countries because it has lower, less progressive and
higher deductibles. It should be considered that, when determining how much the transfer amounts to, the value of the properties is not calculated
according to their market value, but based on their cadastral value which is often much lower than the market value, thus also reducing the overall value of the taxable base of inheritance tax”.
