03.16.2020 – 21.43 – The Council of Ministers today approved the “maxi-decree” entitled “Cura Italia” which will have the task of supporting the economy following the current Coronavirus epidemic.
The measure, as a whole, provides for a series of exemptions from tax payments and a series of measures to support small and large businesses.
“Cura Italia” should inject 25 billion of fresh money into the system, which in turn should allow 350 billion to be moved.
A first step for the Italian economy to follow, for the month of April, a similar “maxi-decree”.
The Minister of the Economy, Roberto Gualtieri, has warned that the decree has used “all the net debt” authorized by the parliament, that is, the 25 billion.
To these must then be added 3 and a half billion for health and 10 billion for employment.
Although the decree is rather complex, it is possible to extrapolate some points of interest, with reference to workers, businesses and the role of the Regions.
In the area of taxation, payments of withholding tax on social security and welfare contributions are suspended, as well as for compulsory insurance premiums.
In addition, all tax payments due between 8 March 2020 and 31 May 2020 are suspended.
Suspended payments will be made, without the application of sanctions and interest, in one installment by 31 May 2020 or by installments up to a maximum of 5 equal monthly installments from May 2020.
For shops and stores, torn by the economic crisis, a tax credit of 60% of the rent for the month of March 2020 of buildings falling under cadastral category C/1 will be granted.
The decree also provides an aid for the sanitation of environments, the costs of which, it must be remembered, are not at all “light”.
For “persons carrying out business, art or profession” is recognized a tax credit of 50 percent of the costs of sanitization of environments and tools of work up to a maximum of 20,000 euros.
Like the world of work, justice is also slowing down: in fact, the measures already adopted to postpone civil, criminal and administrative hearings will be extended until 15 April 2020, with the relative suspension of the terms already adopted previously until 22 March 2020.
There is no lack of a look at the penitentiary world, although in this regard the maxi-decree is rather vague: in fact, the aim is to ensure the “full restoration of the functionality of the penitentiary institutions” although it is recognized that the cause of the “serious disturbances” were “the news on the epidemiological diffusion at a national level of the Covid-19″.
The chapter – due to its very delicate nature – of the social shock absorbers confirms the availability for the redundancy fund; next to this are tax credits for shops and stores.
In fact, according to the text of the maxi decree, “a tax credit in the amount of 60 percent of the amount of the rent, relating to the month of March 2020, of buildings falling under cadastral category C/1″ is recognized.
The government has also tried to meet the needs of freelancers holding VAT, as well as “COCOCO” and agricultural and entertainment workers.
These are hardly measures that will be able to help those who have started VAT and have had their economic activity “destroyed” by the current crisis; the hope is that it is a first step and not the only one.
It is expected respectively “for freelancers with active VAT on February 23, 2020”, for “workers with coordinated and continuous collaboration relationships active on the same date and, enrolled in the Separate Administration not in receipt of a pension” and for “not enrolled in other forms of compulsory social security, fixed-term agricultural workers and workers in the entertainment industry” a one-off allowance of 500 euros.
Particular emphasis has been placed, within the family, on the possibility for private employees to care for their children if they are twelve years old or younger; in practice until preadolescence.
This is a special leave of fifteen days, which can be distributed as the employee wishes, for which an allowance of half the salary is provided.
This is not fifteen days for each parent, but half a month in common, so the father can choose to take ten days’ leave, for example, and the mother five days, thus completing as much leave as possible.
As an alternative to leave, it is possible to choose a bonus of EUR 600 to pay for a babysitter.
The solution chosen presents more than one problem, considering that quarantine is already well beyond two weeks, and how many parents are both workers and perhaps with children aged thirteen, fourteen and therefore excluded from the “maxi-decree”.
The chapter “Enterprises” sees Italy adopt extraordinary measures to deal with the current epidemic crisis: in fact, requisitions are foreseen by the Civil Protection every time there will be a need for “health and medical surgical facilities“.
Since the Second World War, Italy has considered itself a manufacturing country; therefore, it is not surprising in this respect that it has decided to introduce a derogation from current regulations so that every company can produce surgical masks.
Finally, it should be noted, again in the context of companies, how the state will provide a guarantee for loans of up to 5 million euros for investments and restructuring of debt situations, in compliance with the guarantees and limits provided for in the measure itself. A central guarantee fund will be available for up to 9 months after the measure.
Traduzione di Michael Guggenbichler
