The Italian Government has confirmed the introduction of the tax on single-use plastic (also called MACSI). The Budget Law for fiscal year (FY) 2020 was voted by the Senate towards the end of December 2019. The government aims at helping the environment by reducing the production and consumption of plastic.
The tax is fixed at €0.45/kg which is half of the planned tariff. The items subject to the new regime include single-use plastic products such as bottles, bags and one-time-use food containers. Compostable MACSI, syringes, medical devices, and items included in MACSI that are produced by recycling, plastic materials for exporting purposes are exempted from the application of the tax.
Under the new provision, the taxable persons would be:
The tax return will have to be submitted at the end of the month following each quarter on which the tax due will be determined. Any refund should be claimed within two years from the payment of undue tax.
A tax credit of 10% of the expenses suffered from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 is granted for the companies to get adapted to the production of compostable and biodegradable products. Industries producing MACSI for protection and delivery of food items will also get the provision.
The audit will be performed by the Italian Customs and Tax Police and a failure to pay tax will be subject to a penalty ranging from 2 to 10 times of the unpaid tax.
The new provision will be effective from 1 July 2020.
The taxpayers asserted that this would only harm the economy rather than bringing in benefits to the environment.
