New Transition 5.0 and ZES refinanced, but not a step change
How the incentives for capital goods and investments in the South are changing
The draft budget law that after approval in the Council of Ministers is about to reach Parliament does not seem to outline any new trajectories for industrial policy.
What has emerged from the approved scheme, and net of possible additions that will be voted on by the Chambers, is a variation or refinancing of already existing instruments.
Incentives for investments in capital goods change name and fiscal aspect. The mechanism developed by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy enters into the manoeuvre as the 'new Transition 5.0 plan': the era of tax credits ends and there is a return to maxi-depreciation, i.e. increased deductions that reduce taxable income.
But the substance, on the side of the objectives, does not change. We are dealing with horizontal incentives, i.e. outside the choice of strategic industrial sectors, based on the purchase of goods, with an extra bonus if the investments lead to a reduction in energy consumption.
Resource resizing
If we then enter into the field of the resources made available, a clear downsizing compared to the current picture emerges. 4 billion comes into the manoeuvre for expenditures made in 2026, with a tail for deliveries made by 30 June 2027.
