By December, 350 small and micro businesses are at risk of closing down, leaving at least 1 million employees unemployed
The economic effort put in place by the Conte government is unprecedented. From the beginning of the pandemic crisis until today, reports the CGIA, the resources directly in support of Italian companies amount to about 35 billion euros. Despite this, this aid was, for most of the recipients, completely insufficient. And after the approval of the last DPCM, the situation in this Christmas period is destined to worsen further.
Report the coordinator of the Studies Office Paolo Zabeo: "From some of our estimates it emerges that the non-repayable grants granted to artisans, small traders, restaurateurs and merchants affected by Covid have covered on average about 25 percent of turnover losses suffered this year. As a result of the difficulties of recent months, it cannot therefore be ruled out that at least 350 small and micro companies in these sectors will definitively close the gate by the end of this month, leaving at least 1 million employees out of work. Therefore, a change of gear is necessary to support those companies that will continue to keep open; move from the logic of refreshments to that of refunds. Such as? Firstly by compensating up to 70 per cent for lost collections and secondly by also reducing fixed costs, as established in recent weeks by the European Commission. Otherwise, we risk a desertification of the historic centers and our neighborhoods, as they will no longer be able to count on the presence of many neighborhood shops ".
While on the one hand the European Union has granted small businesses with a loss of at least one third of their turnover the possibility of having up to 90 per cent of fixed costs reimbursed by their respective countries, on the other it has introduced a new definition of state of default of companies that will create many problems especially for many SMEs.
The secretary Renato Mason states: "With so many taxes, an intolerable bureaucracy and a vertical collapse of public and private investments that has no equal in recent decades, there is a big news that from next January risks putting many in serious difficulty companies, especially small ones. We refer to the new definition introduced by the European Union regarding default. After lowering the overrun threshold for citizens and businesses, in order to avoid the negative effects of non-performing loans, Brussels has imposed on banks the cancellation of unsecured risk loans in 3 years and in 7-9 years for those with collateral. It is clear that the application of this measure will induce many credit institutions to adopt an attitude of extreme rigor in providing loans, to avoid having to incur losses within a few years. A solution, the one decided by the EU, which although it has its validity in normal times, appears completely inappropriate in such a dramatic moment as the one we are experiencing and, unfortunately, we will live at least for another year ”.
Returning to the topic of measures in support of activities forced to close completely or partially, the CGIA underlines that the State, the Regions and the Municipalities have the right / duty to prepare all the limitations they deem useful for protecting public health. It is also evident that in the face of the closure of economic activities, the latter must be economically supported to a greater extent than has been done up to now.
It is true that this additional current expenditure would contribute to increasing public debt, but it is equally true that if we do not save businesses and jobs, we do not lay the foundations to restart economic growth, the only "tool" capable of reducing the of public debt that is undermining the future of our country.
The situation today, however, is different from that experienced last spring. If then all the companies had been forced to close and only the essential ones remained open, today most of the activities are open and, for the most part, some sectors located in the regions considered most at risk of contagion have been subject to restrictions. Therefore, for these activities closed by decree, simple refreshments are no longer sufficient, but an allocation is necessary that almost totally compensates both the missed collections and the current expenses that they continue to sustain.
The same thing must also be defined for those sectors which, although in business, are as if they were not. We point out, in particular, the commercial and craft enterprises located in the so-called art cities that have suffered a collapse in foreign tourist presences and, in particular, non-scheduled local public transport (bus operator, car rental with driver and taxi) that although in service have the vehicles stopped in the sheds or in the stands.
Limited to artisan and commercial figures, moreover, an exception to the current legislation on social security contributions would be necessary, eliminating the payment referred to the pre-established minimum, thus allowing interested parties to only pay the contributions calculated on the actual income produced in the years 2020 and 2021 We remind you that for the current year the minimum income considered for traders and artisans for the purpose of social security contributions is close to 16.000 euros. Consequently, since traders and artisans have a tax rate of around 24 per cent, the minimal contribution that should be eliminated would allow a per capita saving of around 3.850 euros. This measure could be applied only for the activities located in the cities of art, however allowing them the figurative contribution to the INPS, and on a voluntary basis, instead, for all the other companies. In the latter case, the failure to pay the minimum would affect the calculation of the pension allowance.
In light of all this, we re-emphasize that since 13 October the European Union has modified the Temporary Framework (temporary framework for measures of state aid to companies), postponing its effects until next 30 June 2021. Therefore, Member States can provide aid up to 90 percent of the fixed costs incurred by companies which, as a result of Covid, have suffered a decrease in turnover of at least 30 percent. These costs include rents, energy bills, insurance costs, etc.
