E intanto all’estero si comincia a pensare che la flat tax possa funzionare. Forse l’Italia e’ in una situazione abbastanza drastica come le economie dell’Est Europa dieci o venti anni fa e quindi uno shock al sistema puo’ giovare.
Dice Leonid Bershidsky di Bloomberg: “Russia’s 2001 tax reform, which scrapped an ill-considered progressive income tax system from the early 1990s for a 13 percent flat rate, increased receipts. In 2002, the year after the introduction of the flat tax, the economy grew 5 percent in real terms, but income tax receipts increased by more than 25 percent. More than 20 countries followed Russia with similar changes, and though some recent studies have challenged the efficiency of these programs, flat taxes have generally delivered. For example, Bulgaria, which introduced an ultra-low flat income tax of 10 percent in 2008, halving the existing rate for the lowest bracket, saw receipts increase as a share of total government revenue. In 2009, the year after the flat tax was introduced, income tax receipts made up 10.2 percent of all tax revenue, compared with 9.4 percent in 2007. And Slovakia didn’t get a revenue increase when a leftist government abolished a flat tax and returned to a progressive system.”
Una tassa piatta, semplice e bassa facilita il ‘pagamento volontario’ delle tasse; riporta economia sommersa a galla; e puo’ adirittura portare ad incremento del gettito fiscale (se politica fiscale ed economia sono gestite abilmente). I dubbi per Bershidsky non sono nelle misure per se o nell’idea della Flat Tax ma nelle capacita’ del governo di gestire la sua introduzione adeguatamente. La Flat Tax puo’ avere effetti positivi in mani abili ma il corrente governo e’ un’incognita, specialmente la parte a Cinque Stelle la quale non e’ investita nella riforma fiscale e ha poca esperienza in materia di gestione economica.
