Manoeuvre, ABI: Uncertainties on Mef auditors, profiles unconstitutionality

Faced with "interpretative uncertainties" about the rule that provides for the presence of representatives of the MEF in the audit boards of companies that receive public contributions, "it seems appropriate, in order to dispel any possible doubts, that the rule be amended by expressly excluding from its scope of application all private entities". This was requested by Abi, the Italian Banking Association, in the memorandum on the manoeuvre filed with the Budget Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. The rule, moreover, in the part in which it would also provide private companies with the obligation to comply with expenditure containment measures "would raise obvious profiles of unconstitutionality".

"Overall, the higher revenue resulting from the postponement of the utilisation of deferred tax assets (Dta) is in the order of EUR 4 billion," Abi further notes in the memorandum. Analysing the measure contained in the manoeuvre that concerns the banks' contribution, the Italian Banking Association emphasises: "These are mechanisms to postpone over time the tax recovery of negative income components that have already accrued the requirements for deductibility on an accrual basis. In essence, the postponement of the recovery of deferred tax assets entails a cost'.

"With the repeal" of the Ace "an important tool" for businesses has disappeared "and, for this reason, it is hoped that it will be reintroduced", continues Abi. "Mechanisms such as the Ace - or similar incentives - produce direct benefits for businesses (capitalisation, dimensional growth, access to credit, greater investment capacity, resilience) with positive effects on the economy as a whole," it states, emphasising that "an essential element for healthy and lasting economic growth is the financial health of businesses. Fiscal leverage has played and can play a decisive role'. On the other hand, with regard to the Guarantee Fund for SMEs, Abi recalls that the experimental period of the Fund's reform will end on 31 December 2024, "with which the activity of the facilitation instrument was redesigned after the extraordinary operational phase allowed by the adoption of specific regulatory frameworks on State aid by the European Commission in relation, firstly, to the pandemic and, then, to the energy shock following the Russian-Ukrainian conflict". "Abi considers it fundamental to maintain the Fund's operational capacity at current levels; in fact, this instrument is central to the country's economic policy, having, among other things, demonstrated effectiveness and efficiency in facilitating access to credit for small and medium-sized enterprises," reads the memorandum. According to the banking association, "it is necessary to confirm the regulations introduced with the Anticipation Decree, making them structural, so that banks and enterprises can plan their activities, having certainty of the public facilities available. This initiative should also be accompanied by an adequate refinancing of the facilitation instrument for 2025'.