Covid-19 effect: one small company out of two reports that payments have lengthened
A small company out of 2, reports the CGIA, reports that the payment times of private customers have increased dramatically and this is putting the financial stability of many road hauliers, packaging manufacturers and part of the metalworking activities at risk this lockdown period, they still worked. Reality, the CGIA says, that even in conditions of economic normality they are often short of liquidity and undercapitalized. The coordinator of the Paolo Zabeo Studies Office declares:
“The liquidity issue for small businesses is dire. If even those who have worked are struggling to collect their entitlements, it is clear that we need to change the register. That is, stop bank loans at rates that are not exactly close to zero, however, which force the assets to borrow further. Yes, however, to grants. If, with too many debts, small businesses are destined to jump, the state, on the other hand, even with a greater public debt, can hold up, thanks also to the measures that the ECB and the European Union will implement in the coming months ".
In support of the thesis that companies must be helped with additional non-repayable transfers, the CGIA reports the report presented in recent days by Bank of Italy researchers Giorgio Gobbi, Francesco Palazzo and Anatoli Segura (Bank of Italy "Financial support measures for post-Covid-19 companies and their medium-term implications" by Giorgio Gobbi, Francesco Palazzo and Anatoli Segura. Covid-19 notes of April 15, 2020). Not only. The craftsmen from Mestre look with interest at the experience gained in Germany in recent weeks. In fact, to support small businesses, the German government and länder paid up to 15 euros to grants to companies with fewer than 15 employees.
The liquidity problem, of course, also concerns personal services companies which, unlike hauliers or many metalworking companies, have been forced to close in recent weeks. Many began to "recover" cash flows by not paying any deadlines. Report the secretary Renato Mason:
“There are not a few artisans and small traders who have decided to mitigate the sharp drop in cash flows recorded in the last month and a half by not paying bills for water, electricity, gas, rent or condominium expenses. This is the case of many shoemakers, upholsterers, goldsmiths, ice cream makers, pastry chefs, tailors, florists, barbers, hairdressers, beauticians, bars, restaurants and various shops that by law had to keep the business closed. Even those who have been able to keep open - such as photographers, opticians and cleaners - have made very little revenues and are pondering whether with the end of the lockdown it will still make sense to continue the business. For this reason, in addition to providing non-repayable liquidity to these small businesses, an important tax cut is also needed right from the start ".
With regard to the so-called "phase 2", the CGIA hopes that the activities can open as soon as possible, a decision, of course, that must be endorsed by the scientific community, as the health of citizens and self-employed / employees must always be placed at the first place. However, what is surprising and that we do not speak at all of the so-called "phase 3", namely that of the economic recovery. In other words, the government does not seem to have a revitalization plan, a project, an idea on the future of the country. An action that would be indispensable, also to dictate the line to many entrepreneurs who after this experience feel confused and confused.