Italy COVID-19 Legislative measures - The Government approves the Decree-Law s.c. ‘Relaunch’
On 13 May the Government approved the Decree-Law s.c. ‘Relaunch’, an economic recovery package following Parliament’s authorisation to increase the deficit by €55 billion in 2020.
In a press conference held immediately after the end of the Cabinet meeting, PM Conte, together with other Ministers, highlighted some of the most relevant measures funded by this package:
- €25.6 billion will be spent to provide income support, under different schemes, to those workers whose employers have temporarily closed down their businesses due to the Covid-19 emergency or to self-employed workers whose turnaround experienced a significant drop (these schemes were already in place but the demand for income support has largely exceeded the available funds). A new income support scheme, named “Emergency Income” will be introduced, under which people with no other income will be given between €400 and €800 for 2 months.
- Almost €16 billion will fund direct aids to small and medium-sized enterprises and other forms of aid to larger businesses
- €4 billion will fund temporary tax cuts, particularly the temporary suppression of two instalments of the Regional Tax on Productive Activities (IRAP) and the temporary exemption from the local real estate tax of businesses in specific sectors, e.g. tourism. Also, most tax payments (for all taxpayers) will be further postponed (until September)
- €3.25 billion extra-funding will be allocated to the national healthcare service.
Other measures mentioned by Conte and other Cabinet Ministers during the press conference include a fast-track procedure to pay the commercial arrears of the Public Administrations, various tax incentives to stimulate expenditures, for example, for house renovation, holiday bonus and temporary permits for illegal aliens working in selected sectors (agricultural workers, domestic workers, caregivers) which was one of the most hotly contested issues debated between ruling parties in the last days.
The Decree-Law has not been published on the Official Journal yet.
If you are interested to know more please contact Telos A&S at telos@telosaes.i
SocialTelos