With the coronavirus that has plagued China spreading into Italy, the Italian government announced that taxpayers in 11 municipalities under quarantine will have their tax payment obligations suspended until March 31.
As of February 25 Italy had 283 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the official designation for the disease that originated in China, with seven patients succumbing to the disease.
On February 23 the Italian Revenue Agency said its offices in Codogno and Lodi di Riscossione will be closed until further notice because of COVID-19. The tax agency said taxpayers can still use its online services.
On February 24 the Ministry of Economy and Finance said the suspension of tax payments went into effect February 21 for the Lombardy municipalities of Bertonico, Casalpusterlengo, Castelgerundo, Castiglione D’Adda, Codogno, Fombio, Maleo, San Fiorano, Somaglia, and Terranova dei Passerini. Vo’Euganeo in the province of Padua is also covered by the suspension. While some of the municipalities are approximately 40 miles from Milan, the suspension does not apply to that city’s 3.1 million inhabitants.
Italy’s actions parallel those taken by Hong Kong’s tax agency in response to the spread of COVID-19. On January 29, 2019, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) said it would suspend all taxpayer services for three days to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus. On February 8 the IRD said that “to achieve social distancing more effectively,” it would enact another three-day suspension of all services except the operations of its business registration office, stamp offices, and central inquiry counter. On February 22 the tax agency said it would continue to provide only limited services for an indefinite period.
The IRD also said due dates for filing tax returns and tax challenges that fall between January 29, 2019, and March 1 will automatically be extended until March 2.