From Confindustria to CISL, the budget does little to lift spirits: “It’s hard to do business like this”

“Given the circumstances, they did what they could. But if I am to judge the manoeuvre not by the effort but by the final result, it is clear that this Budget Bill will not get the ball rolling for Italian businesses. It is as if you were giving a spoon to a sinking ship to scoop water out of the hull. This makes it difficult to do business, and that is why we must continue to press our demands.” Paolo Streparava, president of Confindustria Brescia, sums up the concerns of the north in this way, speaking to Il Foglio. "And mind you, I’ve just had a meeting here at Confindustria and the mood amongst my colleagues is exactly the same – I can assure you of that," he adds. We have tried to gauge this mood here, but the majority of responses from industrialists were along these lines: "I’m busy with entirely different matters." "I’d rather my colleagues were the ones to judge." “I wouldn’t know what to tell you.” In short, the Budget Bill passed by the government on Wednesday – that 26-billion-euro package which, in theory, represents the main channel through which governments pursue their economic and industrial policy – is not exactly garnering effusive praise amongst business leaders. More than anything else, one might say, it is a mixture of anticipation and some embarrassment. In fact, it was Confindustria president Emanuele Orsini who, in the heat of the moment, offered a balanced assessment: “An opinion on the Budget Bill? We’ll read the texts.” He added, however, a far more cryptic remark: “I hope we’ll find measures that can help pave the way for aid and support for businesses.” On first reading, however, the business community—while appreciating the soundness of the accounts and certain measures that will undoubtedly help (such as the use of tax credits for software purchases)—did not feel reassured by the failure (at least for now) to extend the hyper-depreciation scheme, which had been refinanced in recent months, until 2029. This was one of the cornerstones of Confindustria’s demands to the government. So much so that even the Minister for Enterprise, Adolfo Urso, had gone out of his way until last week to promise that the extension would eventually be granted. “But it is not certain that it will not be accepted in parliamentary proceedings,” whisper hopeful voices within the majority. On energy measures, too, the government is playing it by ear, and the call is for “structural, not temporary, measures”.

On the trade union front, however, as they say in bookmakers’ jargon, the opposition of the CGIL and its secretary Maurizio Landini – who had called a general strike, scheduled for 20 November, even before the government had drafted a bill – was ‘not on the cards’. It is therefore no surprise that Landini is now describing the budget as “inadequate and unfair. It reinforces the reasons for the strike”. This pre-emptive hostility certainly does not characterise the CISL, which has always asserted its independence of judgement (even regarding Landini’s hasty moves) and has consistently shown itself to be open to dialogue with the government. That said, the assessment by the trade union led by Secretary Daniela Fumarola is nuanced: “There are choices that go in the direction indicated by the CISL, others that need improving, and various aspects to be examined in detail”. The assessment is positive regarding the 33 per cent personal income tax rate for incomes up to 55,000 euros per annum, as well as the increase in funding for the single Special Economic Zone (ZES), the refinancing to ensure the law on representation (called for by the CISL) functions properly, the maternity bonus and tax relief for employers. However, the union based in Via Po does not shy away from making far less positive comments either: “We do not agree with raising the flat-rate threshold to 100,000 euros, which, for the same level of income, widens the gap between the self-employed on the one hand, and employees and pensioners on the other. Furthermore, the permanent exemption from vehicle tax must not result in reduced resources for regions and local authorities – that is, fewer services for citizens”. Furthermore: “The new rules on pension indexation emerging from the previews of the budget bill hit the middle-income group of pensioners, who over the years have already been asked to make continuous sacrifices and face cuts to cost-of-living adjustments. The cost of the positive measure to extend the IRPEF tax rate must not be borne, even partially, by pensioners,” notes Fumarola. In any case, the ‘light’ mobilisation in Italian cities calling for a detailed debate will continue. Meanwhile, Pierpaolo Bombardieri’s UIL, which had expressed approval for certain specific provisions of the previous Budget Law, has remained more cautious. Coldiretti, on the other hand – another organisation that had withdrawn its support for the government during the referendum on justice and which is considered ‘close’ to the right – is this time backing the budget, primarily due to the funds allocated to ‘Agricoltura 4.0’.