The decree-law 17.5.22 no. 50-in introducing in Italy a series of urgent measures to support businesses and workers-extends to 50 percent the tax credit already established for investments in intangible assets 4.0, e.g. blockchain. Up to 70 percent for training related to this.
1) Urgent measures for enterprise productivity.
DL 17.5.22 no. 50 introduces ‘urgent measures on national energy policies, business productivity and investment attraction, as well as on social policies and the Ukrainian crisis‘. (1)
Measures of potential interest to businesses and workers in Italy include:
– ‘temporary liquidity support measures for small and medium-sized enterprises‘ (Art. 16),
– ‘fund for supporting enterprises damaged by the Ukrainian crisis‘ (Art. 18),
– ‘Refinancing of the Fund for the Development and Support of Agricultural, Fisheries and Aquaculture Enterprises‘ (Art. 19),
– ‘loan guarantees for agricultural, fishing and aquaculture enterprises that have experienced an increase in energy costs’ (Art. 20),
– ‘increased tax credit for investment in intangible assets 4.0‘ (Art. 21),
– ‘Training 4.0 tax credit‘ (Art. 22),
– ‘fund for enhancing foreign investment attraction‘ (Art. 25),
– ‘Urgent provisions on public works contracts‘ (Art. 26),
– ‘Territorial pacts of high enterprise training‘ (Art. 28),
– ‘measures in favor of exporting enterprises‘ (Art. 29),
– ‘One-time allowance (€200) for employees‘ (Art. 31),
– ‘One-time allowance for pensioners and other categories of subjects‘ (Art. 32),
– ‘fund for supporting the purchasing power of self-employed workers‘ (Art. 33).
1.1) 50% tax credit on blockchain and intangible asset investment 4.0
‘For investments involving assets included in Annex B to Law 11.12.16 no. 232, (2) made from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022, or by June 30, 2023, provided that by December 31, 2022, the relevant order has been accepted by the seller and down payments in an amount at least equal to 20% of the acquisition cost have been made, the measure of the tax credit provided for in Article 1, Paragraph 1058, of Law No. 178, is elevated to 50 percent.
The charges arising from this article, estimated at 15.7 million euros for the year 2022, 19.6 million euros for each of the years 2023 and 2024, and 3.9 million euros for the year 2025, shall be provided for in accordance with Article 58‘ (DL 17.5.22 No. 50 Article 21).
1.2) Tax credit of up to 70 percent for training 4.0
‘In order to make more effective the process of technological and digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises, with specific reference to the qualification of personnel skills, the tax credit rates of 50 percent and 40 percent provided for in Article 1, Paragraph 211 of Law No. 27 of December 2019. 160, for employee training expenses aimed at the acquisition or consolidation of skills in the technologies relevant to the technological and digital transformation of enterprises, are increased to 70 percent and 50 percent, respectively, provided that the training activities are provided by the entities identified by decree of the Minister of Economic Development to be adopted within thirty days of the date of entry into force of this decree and that the results related to the acquisition or consolidation of the aforementioned skills are certified in accordance with the procedures established by the same ministerial decree.
With respect to training projects initiated after the effective date of this decree that do not meet the conditions stipulated in paragraph 1, the tax credit measures are respectively decreased to 40 percent and
35 percent‘ (DL 17.5.22 No. 50, Article 22).
3) Blockchain and digitization in the food supply chain, why invest today
The period economic scenario is not favorable and the outlook far from rosy. The 4.0 investment facilities now available moreover exceed the constraints set in other measures (3.4) and deserve special consideration today, precisely in the food sector. There are several reasons for this:
– ensure product safety to inspection authorities and international economic operators on the basis of unchangeable and incorruptible electronic records. With possible advantages in export procedures, even in the short term, (5)
– enhance the authenticity, integrity and quality of supply chains and products, in the eyes of consumers (6,7),
– optimize processes, thanks to real-time analysis of flows and other relevant data ( KPIs, key performance indicators), in a historical period characterized by frequent discontinuities in supply and volatility in price lists. (7)
Wiise Chain
The Wiise Chain system-which is part of our ecosystem of benefit companies-is based on a public blockchain, with an unbeatable level of cybersecurity provided by the Bitcoin protocol and the interoperability offered by OpenTimeStamps.
The system can be tailored to the needs of each operator, deciding what data to record and to which circles of subjects to make it available, through QR-codes or even just the bar code.
The costs are competitive and independent of the numerical variable (number of batches and data recorded), as well as being halved by the tax credit (see section 1.1). Without requiring any additional work in the organization.
What else to wait for?
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Decree Law 17.5.22, no. 50 (effective 18.5.22). On Normattiva, https://bit.ly/3ty08vg
(2) Investments in intangible assets 4.0 shown in Annex B to Law 232/16 on Normattiva, https://bit.ly/3NQb1k7
(3) Andrea Adelmo Della Penna.
Sustainable Investment 4.0 and blockchain financing, MiSE announcement.
GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade) 24.4.22,
(4) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Agricultural SME enterprises, innovative investment fund 2022. Blockchain at the center. FT (Food Times). 8.5.22,
(5) Dario Dongo. Blockchain agribusiness, from Walmart to FDA in the US, Wiise Chain in Italy. Toward Web 3. FT (Food Times). 9.2.22,
(6) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Blockchain, the opportunities for the food and organic supply chain. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 1.11.20,
(7) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Public blockchain and the food supply chain, sustainability for producers and consumers. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 28.2.21, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/progresso/blockchain-pubblica-e-filiera-agroalimentare-sostenibilità-per-chi-produce-e-chi-consuma
(8) Joe Terino. Supply Chain Reset: A Different Reality Demands a Different Approach. Bain & Company. 3/31/22, https://www.bain.com/insights/supply-chain-reset-a-different-reality-demands-a-different-approach
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
