The reconsideration by the Italian Revenue Agency in relation to the tax amortization rate for the photovoltaic and eolic plants

Circular Letter No. 4/E of March 30th 2017 issued by the Italian Revenue Agency – unlike the former position which was hotly contested by operators – reconsidered a significant issue related to the tax amortization rate of the photovoltaic / eolic plants identified in the cadastral register according to the criteria set forth in Circular Letter No. 36/E of December 19th, 2013.
On that occasion, a 4% maximum rate, for corporate tax purposes, was deemed applicable to the whole cost of the plant, notwithstanding the criteria used for financial statement purposes.
In the light of the provision recently introduced by article 1 of Law No. 208/2015 (see our Tax Alert dated January 19th, 2016) on machineries used in industrial production permanently embedded in industrial buildings (e.g. fixed to the ground), the Italian Revenue Agency now states that the threshold for the tax amortization rate is 9%.