The Italian Case: with the New Reform, Will Interferences Taxes in Financial Reporting be Definitely Eliminated?

ABSTRACT: The presence of tax rules that place limits on the tax deductibility of items in the balance sheet in the public profit and loss makes it tempting for preparers of financial statements to reduce the taxable income on which taxes are to be calculated, to report tax items in the financial reporting of the company. In this case, one speaks of tax interferences in financial re-porting since the balance sheet and the profit and loss should be free from any connection with tax regulations since, while tax regulations regulate the determination of taxable income, the rules concerning financial repor-ting aim to ensure that financial reporting is correct, fair and understan-dable. Tax interferences are numerous and widespread in Italian financial statements; on 23 April 2023, a bill was pre-submitted that should reform the tax sphere, and among the various topics covered, the existing rela-tionship between financial reporting and tax regulations. As will be stated in the following pages, the elimination of tax interference, a primary goal set out in the bill as mentioned above, will be achieved if companies adhe-re to what will be set out in the implementing decrees of the law and if tax assessors can act on financial statement values. An objective of the reform is to eliminate tax interference in financial reporting, but only in the light of the implementing decrees, which have not yet been issued and after two or three years of financial statements, will we be able to know whether the objective of the reform as mentioned above will be achieved, or whether tax interference will continue to be present in the form of tax ru-les that, when the reform comes into force, will no longer have any legal value, but may continue to have operational and practical valu