Building bonus, energy costs and apprenticeship. Confartigianato explains what is missing in the maneuver

Pending the final approval by Parliament, the 2023 Budget Law expresses overall appreciable commitments on the part of the government. Constructed in record time, in a framework compatible with the Pnrr measures and public finance accounts, the maneuver is in continuity with the measures already taken by the previous executive and concentrates resources on the absolute priority of reducing the impact of the price increases energy on businesses and households.

A robust and pragmatic response to the emergency, therefore, which is accompanied by broader lines of intervention aimed at laying the foundations of the long-awaited tax reform, simplifying the life of companies and concretely safeguarding the made in Italy manufacturing system, favoring job creation as well. These are objectives that meet the expectations reaffirmed several times by Confartigianato, even during the discussions that we have had with government representatives in recent weeks, starting with the one with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Our expectation is for a new course of economic policies “tailored” to artisans and micro and small businesses, capable of enhancing their quality, innovation and competitive capacity. Made in Italy is an “engine” that is always on. But it must be fueled with the fuel of trust. And the road must be cleared of the many obstacles that hinder the path of entrepreneurs. The signs of vitality shown by artisans and small businesses must be encouraged with an equally energetic effort on the part of those who lead the country to change a context that is often still hostile to freedom of economic initiative. It is necessary to achieve the right balance between the choices of rigor and the indispensable options for growth: reduction of the tax burden, fight against bureaucracy, cost containment of the Public Administration, better access to credit, public services and efficient infrastructures, rapid justice, attentive welfare to the new needs of citizens and entrepreneurs.

We need a burst of pride to defend our productions and the content of skills, taste, creativity, quality, flexibility, innovation expressed by craftsmanship and small businesses. We need interventions aimed at the most innovative sectors, but we also need projects to enhance the strong sectors of our traditional manufacturing. A training policy to guide young people in the labor market needs to be rethought and supported. In this sense, there are no measures on which Confartigianato calls for rapid and decisive action. Even the survival of many businesses is at stake. I am referring to the release of problem tax credits of companies that have used building bonuses, the cut of general system costs in the electricity and gas bills of companies with power exceeding 16.5 kW, the three-year contribution reduction for the hiring of apprentices.

In terms of tax credits, the measure that provides for loans guaranteed by Sace that can be disbursed by banks risks not solving the problems of companies. For Confartigianato, the simplest and most effective way remains to entrust the purchase of substandard tax credits to a buyer of last resort such as Cassa depositi e prestiti. And, looking ahead, we expect a rational and structural rethinking of the incentives for the redevelopment of real estate assets, avoiding repeating the “stop and go” regulations on building bonuses which, in the last two and a half years, have undergone 224 changes, one every 16 days.

As for energy costs, it is necessary to definitively eliminate the general system costs from the electricity bills of manufacturing companies with power above 16.5 kW. In fact, it is unthinkable to ask an entrepreneur who has gone from 7,000 euros per month in energy costs in 2021 to 14,000 euros per month in 2022 to pay out, starting next year, even 2,000 euros per month for the general costs of the electricity system.
Job training is another issue on which more needs to be done: this is why we ask that the total decontribution be restored, for the first three years, of the apprenticeship contract applied by craft businesses and companies with up to 9 employees. In this way we would concretely invest in the ability of our companies to create skills and offer young people new employment opportunities.

Marco Granelli
president of Confartigianato