The benefits for businesses and families provided by the #CuraItalia decree

Work

Aid to businesses

€5 billion has been allocated in funds and guarantees, which will unlock €340 billion in access to credit . They will be used for various purposes, ranging from freezing installments due until September 30th, freezing bullet loans (with single installment repayments), strengthening the Guarantee Fund for SMEs, leveraging the increased capitalization resulting from the conversion of DTAs into tax credits, and specific CDP guarantees for the provision of new credit.

Redundancy fund for all

The wage supplement fund is being increased , with an additional allocation of €1.3 billion over the existing amount. The €3.3 billion figure covers the extraordinary redundancy fund for all businesses, including those with just one employee. These benefits will last for nine weeks . Layoffs have been frozen for two months , starting February 23.

Parental leave

Parents, employees, and collaborators who are at home caring for their children due to school closures can request up to 15 days of special leave, paid at 50% , if their children are under 12 years old. Working parents with children between the ages of 12 and 16 are entitled to leave without compensation and with the right to retain their jobs. As an alternative to requesting leave, they can request a €600 babysitting voucher , which increases to €1,000 for healthcare workers. €600 for the self-employed and freelancers. €3 billion earmarked for self-employed workers and freelancers to cover the period of inactivity due to the epidemic. Self-employed workers, seasonal workers, and others will receive a €600 check in March.

Law 104 extended

Special leave for those who are ill, immunocompromised, or suffering from specific conditions . The leave provided for by Law 104 has been extended by 12 days, which can be used in the months of March and April. In the private sector, quarantine is treated as sick leave. Until April 30, public and private sector employees with disabilities can take time off work. Absence from work is treated legally and economically equivalent to periods of absence due to hospitalization or mandatory quarantine. Absence does not count toward sick leave.

Smart working

Private sector workers with serious and proven medical conditions or disabilities have the right to work remotely.

Employee bonus

For those with a total annual income of less than €40,000, a €100 bonus is available for the month of March, provided they continue to work at their place of employment during the health emergency.

Quarantine as a disease

The quarantine period for health reasons is equivalent to that of illness for the purposes of economic treatment

Aid for tourism and culture workers

Extraordinary benefits to mitigate the negative effects in the hardest-hit sectors, such as tourism and culture, will be extended to workers without social safety nets. Support is also available to businesses: the measures include the suspension of withholding taxes, social security and welfare contributions, and compulsory insurance premiums.

Tax relief for businesses

All companies with annual revenues of up to €2 million will be suspended from tax and social security payments until May 31, 2020. Payments can be made in five installments starting in May.

Healthcare

Bonus for doctors

Funds have been allocated to cover overtime for doctors and nurses on the front lines of the emergency, to increase security checks at ports and airports, and to provide temporary wards inside and outside hospitals.

School

Distance learning

The decree also allocated €85 million for schools to strengthen distance learning. Of these funds, €10 million will go toward purchasing platform licenses, €5 million toward training school staff, and €70 million will provide individual digital devices (tablets, laptops) on loan to less well-off students.

Other shock absorbers and measures

Contributions for housekeepers and carers

Payments of social security and welfare contributions and mandatory insurance premiums by domestic employers due between February 23 and May 31 have been suspended.

Sanitization costs

For 2020, a tax credit is available equal to 50% of the costs of sanitizing work environments and tools, up to a maximum of €20,000.

Shops and stores

A tax credit equal to 60% of the rent paid for shops and stores (category C/1 properties) has been introduced, but only for the month of March 2020.

Aid for agriculture and fishing

A €100 million fund has been created for agricultural, fishing, and aquaculture businesses. It will fully cover the costs incurred for interest accrued on mortgages over the past two years. Farmers will be able to request advances of up to 70%, instead of the current 50%.

Shock absorbers for air transport

In addition to the provision for the creation of a public Newco for Alitalia, the decree allocates €200 million to the Airline Solidarity Fund. This will finance social safety nets, including those for Air Italy.

Tax credit and publishing

The tax credit for advertising investments in the publishing sector is being strengthened. For the three-year period 2020-2022, the bonus will be granted at a flat rate of 30% of the value of investments made, rather than 75% of incremental investments alone.

Vouchers for tourism and entertainment

The provisions regarding reimbursement or the award of a voucher to be used within the year, introduced by Decree No. 9 of March 2, are now extended to accommodation contracts (previously only valid for travel tickets and tourist packages). Furthermore, the right to a voucher of the same value, to be used within one year of issuance, is established for tickets for events and various shows, including cinema and theater, or for museums and cultural venues. A specific application must be submitted, citing the event's suspension due to the coronavirus emergency.