Coronavirus: what the Cura Italia decree provides for economic support
Environment — di Valentina Neri
The main economic support measures set out in the Cura Italia decree, for businesses and workers thrown into crisis by the coronavirus.
Coronavirus: what the Cura Italia decree provides for economic support
The main economic support measures set out in the Cura Italia decree, for businesses and workers thrown into crisis by the coronavirus.
A week after the publication of the #iorestoacasa decree, which extended strict restrictions on movement and activities aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus to the whole of Italy, the Council of Ministers approved a new decree-law containing the first – long-awaited – economic support measures for families and businesses. Dubbed the "Cura Italia" decree, it acts on four main fronts. Here is a rundown of the most significant measures.
Support for workers and businesses
Any company obliged to suspend or reduce its activities due to the health emergency will be able to draw on redundancy fund provisions by way of derogation for nine weeks, even if it has fewer than five employees.
The five million self-employed workers with a VAT number, meanwhile, are entitled to a tax-free allowance of €600 for the month of March, which could be renewed for April as well depending on how the situation develops. For freelance professionals excluded from this category (such as those registered with professional orders) funds will be drawn from a last-resort income fund, with an initial endowment of €300 million.
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In the private sector, as well as for public employees, time spent in quarantine will be treated as sick leave. Given that schools will remain closed until at least 3 April, workers (employed or self-employed) with children under the age of 12 can apply for 15 days' leave at 50 per cent of their salary. Alternatively, they will receive a babysitter bonus of €600 (increased to €1,000 for healthcare staff in public facilities and for law enforcement personnel).
Extraordinary support measures are also being activated for businesses in the air transport, agriculture and fishing sectors.
Credit support for families and businesses
Given that entire economic sectors have found themselves almost entirely paralysed overnight, businesses may find it very difficult to keep up with mortgage, leasing and other loan repayments currently in place. For this reason, the decree provides for a moratorium in favour of all small and medium-sized enterprises and, in parallel, strengthens the central guarantee fund for SMEs (a body linked to the Ministry of Economic Development that provides a public guarantee to encourage banks to lend money).
What about first-home mortgages? For the next nine months, the range of people who can access the so-called Gasparrini fund, managed by Consap, is being expanded. This fund comes into play when it becomes necessary to suspend repayments for a few months where the value of the property is below €250,000. Without needing to submit an Isee means-test statement, employees who have lost their jobs or self-employed workers who have suffered a drop in turnover of at least 33 per cent can apply to pause their repayments.
Operators in the cultural sector are suffering very heavy repercussions, as the doors of cinemas, theatres, venues and museums were shut from the very first days of the health alert. The Cura Italia decree announces the establishment of an emergency fund for the performing arts, cinema and audiovisual sector with an initial endowment of €130 million, to be followed by further urgent provisions. The refund mechanism for tickets already purchased has also been simplified.
🔴 In diretta da Palazzo Chigi: facebook.com/GiuseppeConte6…
Suspension of tax obligations
For businesses in the sectors hardest hit by the crisis (tourism, hotels, thermal baths, passenger transport, restaurants and bars, culture, sport, education, amusement parks, events, gaming and betting) payments of withholding taxes, contributions and compulsory insurance premiums are frozen for the months of March and April. For companies with an annual turnover of less than €2 million, the deadline for March tax and social security obligations is deferred to 31 May, with the option of splitting them into five instalments. Until the end of May, the Agenzia delle Entrate is also suspending all assessment, collection and litigation activities.
Among the incentives for businesses, mention can be made of incentives for the sanitisation of premises and workplace safety. Shops and small businesses forced to close their shutters, meanwhile, are granted a tax credit equal to 60 per cent of the rent due for March.
È il momento di essere uniti. Si sta chiedendo al Paese un sacrificio necessario per la #salute di tutti, il bene più prezioso. Nessuno verrà lasciato solo in questa fase drammatica. Sconfiggiamo insieme il #coronavirus e ripartiamo più forti di prima. Ce la faremo!
More resources for the national health service
A chapter of expenditure is dedicated to the national health service, which bears a large share of the burden of this health emergency. In addition to the green light for funds covering 20,000 new hires, €1.65 billion has been unlocked for the National Emergencies Fund, a further €150 million for overtime for staff, and €340 million for intensive care beds and beds in pulmonology and infectious disease wards.
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A priority is undoubtedly to provide support to the doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers who in recent weeks have been dealing with an unprecedented workload. For this reason, on an exceptional basis, a degree in medicine becomes a qualifying degree for the practice of the profession. Furthermore, the possibility is opened up of retaining in service those who have accrued the requirements for retirement, or of recruiting professionals from abroad. Should medical or surgical supplies be lacking, Civil Protection can requisition them from private companies; hotels (or similar properties) could also be required to accommodate people under health surveillance.