“Today the level of GDP is 2.5% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2019. We have more than recovered pre-pandemic levels”, but, he warns the president of Confcommercio, Carlo Sangalli, at the annual meeting, “however, consumption is still behind” which on average in 2022 are around twenty billion euros lower than in 2019″. And “they are slowing down, starting with food, due to the inflation that continues to bite, which erodes purchasing power”. And he underlines: “I Our sectors have been hit hardest by crisis after crisis, but they have never given up.”
“There is room for new jobs”, said the president of Confcommercio, Carlo Sangalli, at the annual meeting. “The market tertiary sector is experiencing a persistent shortage of personnel”, he warns: “In tourism and commerce, for example, compared to 2022, about 480,000 workers are missing. And for over 40 percent, there is a concrete risk that the demand cannot be satisfied, above all due to the lack of skills. It is therefore necessary to intervene to bridge the gap between training and the needs of businesses, as well as to plan adequate flows of immigrant workers”.
THE FORECASTS OF THE STUDY CENTER – Confcommercio estimates that GDP will grow by 1.2% for 2023, consumption by 1% and a “slight improvement” in 2024 (GDP +1.3%, consumption +1.1% ). 2023 inflation is expected at 5.9% to fall to 2.3% in 2024. And on the trend of the economy he warns: the rise in GDP estimates is the effect “exclusively” of the “greater growth achieved”: the slowdown phase is confirmed, more intense in the second quarter than in the second half of the year”. Phase “very similar to the pre-pandemic dynamics, stigmatized by all as insufficient to guarantee a balanced and widespread development of the nation’s economic well-being”. “The North-South gaps are widening”, with the South that in 2023 “it will grow almost three times less than the North. Lombardy with a growth of 1.7% is the region with the best performance, in last place Calabria and Sardinia with zero growth”. The South appears “stuck in the pits” according to the analysis of regional economies by the Confcommercio study centre, disseminated in coincidence with the annual meeting: it is a gap that is confirmed “also for consumption with the South at +0.4% and the North at +1.2%”. By area, the 2023 GDP estimate is +1.4% for the North-West and North-East, +1.2% in the Center (and on average for the country), +0.5% in the South + 0.5%
TAX – The time for “ordinary maintenance” is no longer on the taxman, with the enabling law for the reform “a complex worksite is opening and discussions with the social partners must continue”, says the president of Confcommercio, Carlo Sangalli, at the annual meeting. “The tax system must be consistent with European and international rules. The web tax itself must be considered in this context. And here we do not understand why a small trader has to pay taxes, all of them and immediately, while this does not happen for large global platforms “, He says. “On the corporate income side, the choices – both in terms of Irpef and in terms of Ires – are right – which intend to favor the reinvestment of profits in the company”. And on personal income tax “it seems necessary to build a no tax area without disparities and define a clear system of deductions and deductions to reconcile flat tax and the principle of progressiveness”. “Good” if there will be “the dry coupon also for commercial leases. But we want to be clear: if it reduces the cost for the owners rent costs must also be cut“. “For the financial sustainability of the reform process, the need for an accurate examination of the subsidies is reinforced”. And “as for IRAP, the delegation confirms the path of its gradual overcoming. We have been asking for it for some time” but it is difficult to replace it: “Adequate in-depth analysis is needed, because there is the risk that the most dynamic and efficient companies will pay”. On VAT: “Rationalization is good, but it must never, never translate into an increase in indirect taxation on goods and services” On “green taxation”, and in particular for the excise duty on energy products and electricity, “the need must be reaffirmed for an approach that combines environmental, economic and social. The reform should primarily aim to reduce the existing differentials between the minimum levels of taxation established at European level and those practiced in our country. It will then be necessary to preserve measures that are indispensable for the competitiveness of our transport companies, from that for commercial diesel to that on exemption regimes for maritime transport”. More generally, on the tax front, “there is a need to recover the trust, simplifying obligations, favoring voluntary instruments such as composition with creditors, rearranging the legislation in a single tax code and enhancing IT tools, essential for contrasting and recovering evasion and avoidance”.
THE CHALLENGES FOR THE TERTIARY SECTOR – With brief passages, in his report to the Confcommercio assembly, the president Carlo Sangalli delves into the main themes and touches on all the “other open challenges” for the sector with a hint. How about procurement code: “Simplification and legality can and must be two sides of the same coin”. And on the subject of tenders “the function of collective catering companies must be safeguarded, as they play a social role also with regard to the weakest sections of the population”. In the “transition 4.0 plan, the rates for tax credits must be strengthened and a wider range of eligible expenses must be defined, so as to support innovation in the tertiary sector”. The high price of energy: “Adequate tax credits and the structural reform of general system charges are needed. The update of the national plan in the light of REPower EU means investments in energy efficiency and transmission networks, in green technologies and digital, in the widespread self-production of renewable energy. Energy communities will also be supported. All without prejudice to the need to differentiate our energy supply and to make it safe”. There is also the issue of Pnrr investments “necessary for the recovery and recycling chain, which still constitutes a critical issue in many regions of the country”. And there is “then the need to review, as announced, the entire matter of building incentives, in order to reconcile energy and anti-seismic efficiency with the drive for growth and the sustainability of public finances. However, we cannot forget that many Our companies in the construction sector are still facing problem loans”. Sangalli also invokes “a structural solution to the issue of payback on medical devices: it jeopardizes the entire supply chain of SME suppliers and the very performance of the health service”. And on credit he says: “It is necessary to intervene on guarantees, also in consideration of the growth in interest rates. The Central Guarantee Fund remains important, but it is necessary to integrate interventions both at a European level and those of credit consortia”. And he continues: “There is the issue of electronic money. We have always been in favor! But the costs of the POS must be lowered. Greater transparency of commissions would be useful”. “It is also necessary to support companies that operate abroad”, he says addressing Minister Adolfo Urso: “May the bill for Made in Italy be a precious opportunity to enhance the sense of Italy, decisive for services and tourism, and for relaunch the action to combat unauthorized and counterfeiting. Again, the strategic role of the transport and logistics system must be recognized in a concrete way”, with “the great theme of accessibility of the country, from the Brenner Pass to the bridge over the Strait of Messina Without forgetting the level of the sea. And how can we fail to refer, in this regard, to the issue of state property for tourist, recreational and nautical use. Let’s think of the mapping of concessions, just compensation, the enhancement of the many businesses, such as seaside resorts , who have invested and contributed to the country’s tourist quality. Such an important reality cannot be left without certainties about its future. The model of concession catering must also be rethought, the costs of which are no longer sustainable”.
Source: Ansa
I am a journalist who writes about economics and business. I have worked in the news industry for over 5 years, most recently as an author at Global Happenings. My work has focused on covering the economy news, and I have written extensively on topics such as unemployment rates, housing prices, and the financial crisis. I am also an avid reader and have been known to write about books that interest me.
