TAX CREDITS TRANSITION PLANS

4.0 In the process of converting the Relaunch decree in Parliament, which has almost reached its conversion (it will be officially approved in the Senate on July 18), there is no trace of the long-awaited measures to extend and enhance the tax credits of the Transition 4.0 Plan; thus, it turns out that there is no increase in the R&D tax credit rates at the national level, except, as we will see, for those on R&D in 11 Italian regions.

The tax credit for R&D investment (set at 12 percent by the last budget law) is significantly increased for companies in the regions of Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily, joined by the regions of Lazio, Marche and Umbria affected by the earthquakes of Aug. 24, Oct. 26 and 30, 2016, and Jan. 18, 2017.

The new increased R&D tax credit for enterprises in the 11 regions involved becomes thus:

– To 25 percent for large enterprises;

– To 35 percent for medium-sized enterprises;

– To 45 percent for small businesses.

INCENTIVES TO INNOVATIVE START-UPS

Innovative start-ups are the main protagonists of the measures dedicated to innovation contained in the Relaunch Decree.

These include Invitalia’s Smart&Start Italia tool (an incentive that supports the birth and growth of innovative startups by financing projects between 100,000 and 1.5 million euros), which is endowed with an additional 100 million, which will be used for “refinancing facilities granted in the form of subsidized financing.” Similarly, another 200 million goes to the “Venture Capital Support Fund” to support investments in the capital of innovative startups and SMEs. On the tax front, the conversion into law of the Relaunch Decree brings with it a 50 percent IRPEF deduction on amounts invested in the share capital of one or more startups or innovative SMEs (either directly or through “collective investment undertakings investing primarily in innovative startups”), for maximum investments of €300,000 to be maintained for at least three years.

To enable innovative startups to have greater access to “innovation ecosystems,” then came 10 million euros that will be disbursed in the form of grants to acquire services provided by incubators, accelerators, innovation hubs, business angels “and other public or private entities operating for the development of innovative enterprises.” The subsidized funding can be worth “four times the total amount of resources raised” by the startup, with a maximum limit of one million euros per investment.

HYPERDEPRECIATION

Delivery deadlines have been extended to Dec. 31, 2020, for capital goods eligible for the super depreciation benefit ordered with down payment equal to 20 percent of the purchase price by last Dec. 31, 2019.

BLOCKCHAIN

Increases the non-repayable contribution (from 35 percent to 80 percent, up to a maximum of 100,000 euros) for the start-up of initiatives, by agrifood supply chains, dedicated to “financing initiatives aimed at the development of innovative production processes and precision agriculture or product traceability with Blockchain technologies.”