(Finance) – “The Association of Magistrates of the Court of Auditors expresses bewilderment and amazement regarding the possible and forthcoming initiatives of the Government, reported by the press, aimed at reducing the areas of competence of the accounting judiciary in terms of concomitant control and extending again and unexpectedly the so-called ‘tax shield’, introduced in 2020, now expiring”. Thus, he respondsMagistrates Association of the Court of Auditors to the news of the measure being examined by the Constitutional Affairs and Labor commissions of the Chamber. The government is reportedly working on a series of amendments to be included in the decree on the PA to simplify the implementation of the Pnrr. Among these there would be one that concerns the “concomitant control” by the Court of Auditors and one on extension of the so-called revenue shield which limits the possibility of contesting tax damages only to a few more relevant cases.
“The Association, in agreement with the heads of the Court of Auditors, – continues the note – has always shown willingness to dialogue so that thoughtful reforms could be introduced, the result of a calm reflection, to adapt the forms of control, including jurisdictional, to the current challenges and, at the same time, ensuring that public resources, especially if they come from the EU, are well spent, in the interest of all citizens. concurrent control it was established pursuant to article 22 of legislative decree 76/2020 with the clear intention of accelerating interventions to support and relaunch the national economy and not to be a brake on it. The temporary rule of art. 21 of the same decree (‘tax shield’) it has opened up a spatium of impunity which benefits the unfaithful official and anyone who squanders public resources”.
In this scenario, the Association “strongly reaffirms its concern for such possible extemporaneous initiatives, seriously damaging to the principle of autonomy and independence of the judiciary, and re-proposes the invitation to the Government to establish a discussion table on reforms, believing that the country’s development passes through the construction of a path of legality, in which everyone is called to play their role, in compliance with the reciprocal attributions”.
The warning of the Court of Auditors comes on the day when the general commander of the Guardia di Finanza, Andrea De Gennaro, he highlighted how “the risk that the Pnrr will end up in the hands of organized crime” is “quite high”. “Together with the Ministry of Economy, the General Accounting Office and all the state administrations involved – De Gennaro said – we have already prepared countermeasures and giving us rules of engagement not only for the upstream repression when the damage is done but also in prevention stage.