From Brescia to Taranto, fake tax credit scams pollute Italian football

Faced with these "tax factoring" operations, through which clubs short of liquidity have acquired tax credits by paying them with discounts of up to 20/25% to meet tax and social security deadlines, the FIGC believes it acted correctly by asking - without "weighing" the names of the clubs involved - as per practice through Covisoc, the internal accounting control body, the Revenue Agency to verify their correctness.

On the other hand, although checks and investigations by the Guardia di Finanza and the Revenue Agency on the issuance and transfer of fictitious tax credits, obtained without actually carrying out the construction work required to access the 110% relief, or on non-existent VAT credits, have been multiplying in recent times, these are compensation systems that the Football Federation cannot prohibit since they are contemplated by the laws of the State and practiced in many territorial areas. It will therefore be up to the sports justice system (the first hearing of the Federal Prosecutor's Office on the Brescia case is set for May 22) and the criminal justice system to establish who was defrauded and who attempted to defraud. A decision that is announced not to be complex and in any case with timescales that are difficult to reconcile with the timing of football championships.

The Revenue Agency, urged at the end of February by Covisoc, only communicated the outcome to the FIGC on May 9, considering the tax credits offset by Brescia to be false. The consequent accusation of the FIGC Prosecutor's Office, which closed the investigations last Sunday, is that of not having provided for the regular payment of Irpef and Inps of the members (while the salaries were paid regularly) in the February and April deadlines.

Brescia thus risks 2 penalty points for Irpef and 2 for Inps. So 4 points to be served this season immediately for the February deadline and another 4 for the next one. Brescia could also try to negotiate by halving the penalty, a solution that is far from obvious, however.

Meanwhile, on Thursday 22 May, the Federal Court will evaluate the accusations of the Prosecutor's Office and the date for the first-degree hearing will be set, between the end of May and the beginning of June. With -4, Brescia, safe at the end of the championship, would find itself third-last and relegated to Serie C, Frosinone would be saved, Salernitana and Sampdoria, currently in C, would play the play-off. The date will be set at least after the first-degree ruling, with the risk of playing in mid-June. Brescia could continue its legal battle and if it is right it could "return" to a B at that point expanded to 21 or 22.