#SoseXpress - Press Review 3/9 April 2021

The country's safety and its reform come first for me because this is what Europe, and the Italians are asking of us. 

Renato Brunetta, Minister for Public Administration, during a television interview. 

The Debate of Ideas 

 

Automation and digitalization: opportunity or threat? 

Despite the progress made in the last year, Digitalization is still viewed with fear and suspicion. Within companies, Digitalization is perceived as an opportunity to organize work but also as a threat to human work. The impact of innovations on work is the subject of numerous studies highlighting contrasting trends and perspectives and well-known problems. A more dynamic economy would allow a better distribution of human capital and work, according to the fundamental principles of sustainability to mitigate environmental and social impacts. Here for more information. 

The Value Added Tax Simulation Model: the new model described in the Finance Department's research series

The Finance Department developed a new micro-simulation model on the value-added tax (VAT) to support policy-makers in planning tax policies in Italy. The main goals of the VATSIM simulation model are to estimate the theoretical and actual VAT revenue, assess the incidence of VAT on households' disposable income, and simulate the distributional effects of changes in fiscal policies. The model uses data from tax returns and national accounts data and is, for this reason, ideal for micro-simulation and perfectly consistent with the most up-to-date macroeconomic data. Here the note from the Finance Department. 

 

Studies, research and numbers 

Istat: in February employment stable compared to January 

From 1 January 2021, the new Labour Force survey started, which transposes Regulation (EU) 2019/1700. In February, the number of employed persons was substantially stable compared to January, while unemployed and inactive people recorded a slight decrease. Employment is stable among both women and men; it grew among permanent employees and the under35s, while it fell among temporary employees, self-employed and people aged 35 or over. The employment rate remained stable at 56.5%. Here the Note by Istat. 

Istat: Report on the Competitiveness of the productive sectors 

On 7 April, Istat presented the 9th edition of the Report on the Competitiveness of the Productive Sectors providing preliminary measurements of the pandemic's economic effects. According to Istat, due to the profound and persisting uncertainty towards the unfolding pandemic crisis, the economic impact have changed economic actors' behaviour and the relations between individuals, businesses, sectors, and countries but can be assessed only in the following years". Here the Note from Istat. 

Electronic invoicing: the January-December 2020 Report by the Finance Department 

Between January and December 2020, the VAT taxable amount estimated through electronic invoicing decreased by 11.1% compared to the same period in 2019. The Report offers a synthetic, updated, and systematic overview of the sectoral and regional dynamics based on the data from the Revenue Agency's electronic invoicing database. Here to learn more. 

Eurostat: Trade in medicinal and pharmaceutical products up in 2020 

In 2020, exports and imports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products increased in the vast majority of EU Member States, despite the general decrease in trade following the restrictive measures adopted to face the COVID-19 outbreak. Slovenia recorded the largest increase in imports of medicinal products (+ 31%) and the second largest increase in exports (+ 42%). Greece registered the largest increase in exports of medicinal products (+ 48%). Here to learn more. 

Istat: data on travel in Italy and abroad 

Travel by residents in Italy fell to an all-time low in 2020, amounting to 37 million and 527 thousand (231 million and 197 thousand overnight stays), with a drastic drop in travel for holydays (-44.8%) and travel for work (-67.9%) compared to 2019. The drop was lower in summer (-18.6%). Nevertheless, almost 7 out of 100 residents gave up on a summer holiday (in 2019, 37.8% of Italians took at least one holiday between July and September, in 2020, they decreased to 30.9%). Foreign trips collapsed (-80.0%). However, destination in Italy were affected to a lesser extent (-37.1%) and amounted to 90.9%. Here the Note by Istat. 

Eurostat: Rents up by 14.9%, house prices by 28.6% since 2010

Between 2010 and the second quarter of 2011, house prices and rents in the EU followed similar paths. After a sharp decline between the second quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2013, house prices remained more or less stable between 2013 and 2014. There has been a rapid increase in early 2015 as prices of homes rose much faster than rents. From 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2020, rents increased by 14.9% and house prices by 28.6%. Here to learn more. 

The voice of Stakeholders 

 

Confartigianato: self-employment down by 355 thousand units in 1 year (-6.8%) 

Istat recorded severe effects on the labour market between February 2021 and February 2020; employment decreased by 945 thousand units, 4.1%, registering a similar intensity for men (-4.0%) and women (-4.2%). The professional position analysis shows that compared to a drop of 1.5% in permanent employees, self-employed workers decreased by 6.8%, with 355 thousand units - the worst decline since 2005 - while fixed-term employees dropped by 12.8%, equal to 372 thousand fewer units. Here to learn more. 

Confartigianato: the economic effects of the pandemic will last four years

The 12th Confartigianato Covid-19 Report analyses economic trends, the effects on micro and small businesses, the territorial differences regarding work, export, digitalization, and environment. The report will be presented on Monday, 12 April 2021, during a webinar entitled "Third Wave and Post-Pandemic Perspectives for Businesses and Territories" organized by the Research Department and the Economic Policies Department within the streaming sessions of the System School. Here to learn more.

 

Innovation 

 

Europe Directive DAC7: big tech companies support the fight against tax evasion 

With the European DAC 7 directive, the fight against tax evasion will also include greater transparency of information and more effective collaboration between web big techs and tax authorities, allowing member countries to intercept part of the lost revenue. This legislative process was completed in just 8 months and allows the adoption of this measure, confirming the Member States' cohesion in terms of tax evasion. Here to learn more. 

 

Local Authorities 

 

How the State saved the municipalities: 3 billion more than the previous year

The Research Department of "Enti Locali" and the Department of Economics and Management of the University of Pisa carried out a study based on the analysis of the data provided by the Bank of Italy. According to the analysis, in 2020 Italian local authorities collected 3 billion euro more than the previous year. In 2020 the total revenue amounted to 61,284,948,067 euro against 58,197,118,094 euro in 2019. Here to learn more. 

 

The world of MEF 

 

The Tax revenue: in the first two months of 2021 amounted to 67.6 billion

In the months of January-February 2021, tax revenue amounted to € 67,660 million, marking a decrease of € 2,920 million compared to the same month of the previous year (-4.1%). The first two months of 2021 and the same period of the last year are not easily comparable since the first months of 2020 had not yet been affected by the government's economic and social measures to cope with the health emergency. In February, tax revenue recorded a decrease of € 1,741 million (-5.3%) due to the change in direct taxation (€ -581 million equal to -3.4%) and indirect taxation (-1,160 million €, -7.4%). Here the Press Release by MEF. 

"Italy's growth will accelerate in 2021", Minister Franco at the G20 Summit 

Daniele Franco, Minister of Economy, pronounced these words during the press conference at the end of the meeting of finance ministers and G20 governors on 8 April. "After the economic contraction of 2020, the global outlook has improved thanks to the vaccines and the policies implemented, but the recovery is uncertain and not homogeneous. The G20 members confirmed "their will to use all available tools, for the time needed, to protect jobs and income. "Here for more information. 

MEF: credit and liquidity for families and enterprises 

Moratoriums still active concern loans for approximately 173 billion, while the requests for guarantees on new bank loans for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises submitted to the Guarantee Fund for SMEs exceeded 152 billion. The “Garanzia Italia” of SACE granted guarantees for 22.6 billion euro, out of 1,772 requests received. Here the Press Release by MEF.