(Finance) – On 26 September the Statistical Office of European Union, Eurostat, published his opinion, of a purely methodological nature, on the classification of the so-called Superbonus in public finance statistics, also due to the changes made by the Italian legislation introduced during 2023. The opinion is the synthesis of a continuous exchange of information and data that Istat conducts with the European statistical authorities as part of the excessive deficit procedure (Excessive Deficit Procedure – EDP).
So there‘Istat in a note explaining that Eurostat he had already intervened last February with ex-ante advice on the accounting treatment of the Superbonus for the years 2020-2022 based on the legislation then in force. On that occasion – the note continues – Eurostat had clarified that the characteristics of the tax credit, such as transferability, discount on the invoice and the possibility of use beyond the tax debt of the year (because it can be used in compensation with every tax debt of the beneficiary) configured the same as a “payable” credit, to be represented in the accounts of public administrations entirely as expenditure in the year of accrual of the benefit, i.e. in the year of support of the expense. The aforementioned characteristics were and are in fact considered sufficient indicators to guarantee that a tax credit is entirely used by the beneficiaries at a certain time, without significant amounts of it being lost, i.e. not being used in some way by the beneficiaries. The regulatory changes introduced in 2023 have made a new clarification intervention by the authority necessary European statistics in regards to classification of the Superbonus for the year 2023.
In fact, the new legislation, eliminating then general terms, the transferability and discount on the invoice from 18 February 2023 has significantly restricted the possibilities for using the credit with consequent possible reclassification of the same in the national accounts as “non-payable”. However, the new provisions have also provided for a series of exceptions for expenses incurred in 2023, for which the previous conditions of use continue to apply (full transferability, discount on invoice, use in tax compensation).
Istat explains that “the evidence available to date has shown that these exceptions represent the majority of the expenses incurred in 2023, as they refer above all to the exemption provided for expenses already started and/or in any case already approved before the block.
For this reason, the opinion expressed today by Eurostat confirmed the proposal of Istat to classify the Superbonus accrued on expenses incurred in 2023 as a “payable” credit, to be recorded entirely in expense in the same year. Eurostat itself stated in its opinion that these considerations cannot also be extended to expenses incurred in 2024 since, while the other minor exceptions remain valid, the exemption relating to expenses already scheduled in 2022 no longer exists. The definition of the accounting profiles of the 2024 Superbonus requires therefore, a further methodological study and an evaluation based on the quantitative evidence that will gradually become available”.
Looking ahead – concludes the note – “the overall assessment of the loss associated with all Superbonus credits accrued on the basis of their actual use remains open, which may involve credits accrued starting from 2020. To date this loss is assessed as not significant although on this may have an impact on the evolution of problem loans in the years to come”.