Less taxes and contributions for sports workers. With the sport reform revised and corrected by the Government on Thursday 7 July and now sent to the Chambers for opinions, the tax and contribution treatment of those who work for amateur clubs and associations is rewritten from scratch. The activity carried out outside the administration to which it belongs and upon specific authorization of the latter, is completely exempt for tax and social security purposes for remuneration of up to 5 thousand euros per year and is excluded from any tax levy up to 15 thousand euros. This limit which up to now is set at 10 thousand euros. Over 5 thousand euros, however, contributions remain due. Tax discounts that the sector still represent the sustainability of the entire amateur sport reform.
Sports volunteers
According to the Revenue data relating to 2020 and therefore to the pandemic period, the number of sports collaborators is equal to 454,770, while before the Covid and the stop to amateur sport the collaborators reported in the single certifications of the amateur sports clubs and associations were 495,154. With regard to the latter, the Revenue showed certified remuneration of less than 5,000 euros for over 81% of the audience, ie 404,913 individuals who did not go beyond 5,000.00 euros per year. This first band – up to 5,000 euros – therefore represents the plurality of subjects operating in the amateur sports field. For the Government, therefore, confirming the total exemption from the payment of taxes and contributions for this large group of collaborators also means responding to the amateur sport sector which would thus guarantee the sustainability of the reform, repeatedly requested by the grassroots bodies, as well as of identify those who actually lend their support within amateur sports without this constituting the sole source of income. The remaining 18.33%, again from the Revenue data for 2019, received compensation of more than 5,000 euros for a total amount of just over a billion.
Cash and anti evasion effects
With the increase from 10 million to 15 thousand euros in the tax exemption threshold for amateur sports work, the Treasury expects to lose just over 14.9 million euros, to which 1.2 and 400 thousand euros of regional surcharge must be added and municipal. But this is a loss, which also includes the recalculation of over 18 million made by the State General Accounting Office, which is in any case covered by the funds set aside for the reform. The changes to the tax and contribution regime introduced by the Executive, according to what the Ministry of Economy itself believes, will have positive effects on the front of the fight against tax evasion now present also on amateur sports compensation. As reported in the technical report to the corrective decree just approved “from the data of Sport and Health for 2017, about 1.1 million subjects work and receive compensation from the world of sport (professional and amateur) and, of these, about 30% is already an employee or professional; the remaining 70% (about 770 thousand taxpayers) would have had to declare amateur sports compensation, while the number of certified subjects is about 500 thousand taxpayers “.
Anti-submerged controls
However, to avoid evasion phenomena, the Register of amateur sports activities, held by the Department for Sport, takes the field. In order to benefit from the concessions, the associations and amateur sports clubs are obliged to consult the register and enter the start of any collaboration with the personal data of the contracted parties. Data that will enrich the information assets of the social security institutions and the Revenue Agency for the purposes of controls on evaded or elusive phenomena.