Main Measures for Workers and Businesses – Public Notice “Dote Impresa Collocamento mirato”

News No. 21/2022

Subject: Main Measures for Workers and Businesses – From the Energy Decree to the Aid Decree and the new Public Notice “Dote Impresa Collocamento mirato”

This News aims to summarize the main measures provided by recent Decrees published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, which concern economic provisions for workers and businesses.

Measures provided by Legislative Decree No. 21 of March 21, 2022 – the Energy Decree, also known as Ukraine bis – which came into force on March 22, 2022

While awaiting its imminent conversion into Law, we recall that this Decree, conceived by the legislator to establish urgent measures to counteract the economic and humanitarian effects of the Ukrainian crisis, has provided various support measures for businesses and employees.

• Support Measures for Employees – Focus on Fuel Bonus for Employees

Under Title I – Containment of Diesel and Petrol Prices, Article 2 - Fuel Bonus for Employees

the legislator has specified that, for the year 2022, the value of petrol vouchers or similar instruments provided free of charge by private companies to employees for the purchase of fuel, up to a limit of Euro 200.00 (two hundred/00) per worker, does not contribute to taxable income according to Article 51 of the TUIR (Consolidated Income Tax Act).

The resulting charges, estimated at 9.9 million euros for 2022 and 0.9 million euros for 2023, are covered by the increased revenues derived from the extraordinary solidarity contribution levied on entities operating within the State territory in the production of electricity, methane gas production or natural gas extraction, and on entities engaged in the production, distribution, and trade of petroleum products.

Pending clarification from the Revenue Agency, an amendment to the conversion bill would extend eligibility to employees of non-corporate entities, such as professional firms or Third Sector Entities exclusively engaged in non-commercial activities.

The benefit exclusively applies to employees of private sector employers. Consequently, collaborators (occasional self-employed workers, co.co.co. contract holders, directors) would be excluded, as would other recipients of assimilated employment income (e.g., trainees).

The provision of fuel vouchers will be on a voluntary basis only; therefore, the employer will decide whether to issue them and up to what amount (observing the maximum amount of Euro 200.00). The vouchers must be made available to employees by December 31, 2022. Fuel vouchers can be granted to subordinate employees hired on both fixed-term and permanent contracts, whether full-time or part-time.

The maximum value of the fuel voucher(s) is attributed to the employee, up to an annual maximum of 200.00 Euros. Therefore, if an employee has already received fuel vouchers up to the maximum limit from one employer, they cannot receive additional vouchers from another employer. In any case, we await the conversion law of the Decree, as well as crucial clarifications from the Revenue Agency.

• Measures to Support Businesses

The Decree has introduced tax credits, installment payments for energy bills, the provision of the SME Guarantee Fund, and tax credits with transferability to energy-intensive businesses and those with high natural gas consumption.

• Labor Measures

The Decree has laid down provisions concerning wage supplementation for energy-intensive and strategically important employers who can no longer access wage supplementation treatments due to the exhaustion of duration limits for related benefits. For these employers, for the year 2022, by derogation and within a maximum spending limit (150 million Euros for 2022), an ordinary wage supplementation treatment is recognized for a maximum of 26 weeks, usable until December 31, 2022. INPS monitors the spending limit and, if reached, will not consider further applications.

To address situations of particular economic difficulty for the year 2022, employers in the tourism sector employing up to 15 employees with ATECO codes as perAnnex I, who can no longer resort to the Wage Supplementation Allowance due to the exhaustion of the duration limit for related benefits (i.e., those who have already utilized all 13 weeks in the rolling two-year period for employers who, in the preceding six months, employed an average of up to 5 employees, or 26 weeks in the rolling two-year period for employers who, in the preceding six months, employed an average of more than 5 employees), are exceptionally granted (within a spending limit of 77.5 million Euros for 2022) an additional wage supplementation treatment of eight weeks, usable until December 31, 2022. INPS will monitor the spending limit and, upon its attainment (including prospectively), will not examine further applications.

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