Although the company size of the small businesses in Italy is very limited, the fiscal and economic contribution made to the country is very significant. In terms of taxes and duties, for example, in 2018 self-employed workers and small businesses paid 42,3 billion euros to the tax authorities (equal to 53 percent of the more than 80 billion in taxes paid by the entire production system). All the others, mainly medium and large companies, on the other hand, paid "only" 37,9 billion (47 percent of the total). Basically, the little ones paid 4,4 billion more in taxes than all the others. To report it is the CGIA.
“As shown by the data of this elaboration - says the coordinator of the Paolo Zabeo Research Department - the tax contribution of medium and large companies is much lower than expected. This result is attributable both to their small number and to the high possibility that these productive realities have to evade tax. As the International Monetary Fund recently pointed out, the non-payment of taxes by the large multinationals of the web, for example, subtracts the Italian treasury about 20 billion every year ”.
In light of these results, the CGIA strongly demands that we return to looking more closely at the world of small and micro, given that taxation continues to stand at unbearable levels, credit is granted with the dropper and the amount of the commercial debt of our Public Administration (Pa) towards its suppliers is 57 billion, of which about half is attributable to missed payments. One theme, that of the missed payments of the PA, which unfortunately is no longer the focus of public opinion. The Secretary of the CGIA states Renato Mason:
"Our PA not only pays with an unjustified delay, which in December of the 2017 cost us a referral to the European Court of Justice, but when it does it is no longer obliged to pay VAT to its supplier. After the introduction of split payment, in fact, the companies that work for the public sector, in addition to enduring long payment times, also suffer from the failure to collect the value added tax which, while representing a round trip, allowed companies to have more liquidity to cover current expenses. This situation, associated with the contraction of bank loans to companies in progress in recent years, has worsened the financial stability of many small companies ”.
If today we count a very small number of large companies, the CGIA recalls that until the first half of the 80s their role in the national economy was of the utmost importance. At that time, Italy was among the world leaders in chemicals, plastics, rubber, steel, aluminum, IT and pharmaceuticals, thanks to the role and weight of many large public and private companies (Montedison , Eni, Montefibre, Pirelli, Italsider, Alumix, Olivetti, Angelini, etc.). Almost 40 years later, however, we have lost ground and leadership in almost all these sectors. And this happened not because of a cynical and cheating fate, but as a result of a natural selection carried out by the market.
As already highlighted, the economic weight of our large companies (those with more than 250 employees) is now reduced to a very small size. Compared to all 4 indicators taken into consideration, SMEs show performances that are clearly superior to those of large companies.
In terms of units, for example, the number of the latter is just over 3.200 (0,1 per cent of total Italian companies). The turnover of big players, on the other hand, affects the overall figure for 31,9 per cent. If the total turnover amounts to 2.855 billion, the part attributable to large companies is 911 billion. The added value, always of the big companies, is equal to 32,7 per cent of the total. If the national figure in absolute terms is 702 billion, the share of companies with more than 250 employees is 230 billion. Finally, in terms of employees, the result of the comparison with SMEs is the result of the latter. Out of an audience of employees in the private sector of over 14,5 million employees, only 3,1 million (equal to 21,4 per cent of the total) is employed by a large company.
