Declared incomes top €100 bln

The final deadline for the filing of tax forms expired on Friday. Data from just a few days before show that a record amount of income was reported and record taxes assessed on individuals.

For the first time, reported incomes exceeded €100 billion. Taxes on individuals were almost €4.5 billion and while only 2.24 million filings out of the 6.4 million processed were assessed, additional taxes (salaried persons and pensioners are taxed at source), the average tax assessed rose to €4,369 from €3,796 in 2023 and €3,207 in 2022.

The increased digitalization of the revenue system, which facilitates cross-checkings with other income sources, including bank accounts, and the “imputed income” rule by which people are taxed, also depending on material possessions, certainly contributed to this higher revenue.

Now, the Ministry of Finance faces three tasks: first, to ensure that inequities created by the new rules, especially concerning the self-employed, are ironed out; making sure taxes are collected; and, third, monitoring any technically legal moves toward tax avoidance.