Good morning everyone.

I am very happy to be offering my greetings to the joint general assembly of Confindustria Bergamo and Brescia, a unique initiative being held in a very significant year, with Bergamo and Brescia having strengthened their ties by sharing the honour of together being Italy’s Capital of Culture for 2023.

I wish to thank and greet Presidents Ricuperati and Gussalli Beretta, Mayors Cossandi, Castelletti and Gori, Minister Fitto and President Bonomi, as well as, of course, all the entrepreneurs in attendance. I am obviously sorry that I am unable to be there in person with you in Palazzolo sull’Oglio, but I nevertheless wanted to send my contribution, as I have also done in the past.
This is all the more true after this first year of government, during which we have had the opportunity to have several discussions with you and with other social partners. Both myself and the rest of the Government consider these discussions to be essential for our work.

Yours are two of Italy’s main local business associations, a source of pride not only for Italian manufacturing companies but for Italy as a whole. You are the driving force of the economy, Europe’s manufacturing platform, as you have quite rightfully indicated in your choice of title for this general assembly.

You are familiar with the vision that inspires this Government’s actions; by now, after a year, I’m sure you’re clear on what our work is about. In our view, it is entrepreneurs and workers who create wealth and well-being; it is the job of the Government and the institutions to put entrepreneurs and workers in the best position to do so. The State must not hinder those who roll up their sleeves every day, but rather be an ally for those who want to produce and invest. This is the vision we are trying to concretely express in our daily work, and in everything we do, starting for example with the tax reform enabling law. Italy has been waiting for this reform for decades and we are implementing it with the first decrees; it has a number of underlying objectives: to modernise the tax system and make it more efficient; to rebalance the relationship between the tax authorities, citizens and businesses, with a view to collaboration rather than the contrasting positions there have unfortunately been in the past. Basically, we are convinced that the State and citizens are exactly like a company: the better they work together, the more they will be able to generate wealth. This is precisely the vision on which we have also based the budget law for 2024. We did not have many resources available, but we have nevertheless drawn up a budget law worth a total of EUR 28 billion, focusing on expansionary measures. It does not waste resources, but rather sets key priorities, which are: defending households’ and workers’ purchasing power; investing in the family and the birth rate; supporting businesses; and, focusing on the heath system.

We have put in place various measures and I clearly shan’t list all of them, but I do want to mention a few. For example, there is the choice to lower taxes for companies that create employment according to the principle of ‘the more you hire, the less you pay’. In other words, we have provided for a ‘super deduction’ of 120% of labour costs for companies that hire people with a permanent contract and increase their total number of employees compared with the previous year. This deduction is increased to 130% if they hire mothers, young people, people with disabilities or people who previously received the ‘reddito di cittadinanza’ [‘citizenship income’] benefit. We have also chosen to support investments and, for 2024, we have earmarked EUR 1.8 billion for the tax credit for businesses that invest in regions belonging to the new Special Economic Zone covering Italy’s entire Mezzogiorno. I am clearly saying this to the General Assembly of Bergamo and Brescia being aware of the fact that Italy’s North-South divide has been a problem for the whole of the country in these years, with no one knowing better than those who create wealth in the North how important it is to bridge that gap. The SEZ is therefore an opportunity not only for companies in the South, but for all of Italy’s entrepreneurial system, considering also the simplification and streamlining of procedures that goes with creating a Special Economic Zone. In addition, we have allocated another EUR 300 million to provide fresh financing for the ‘Nuova Sabatini’ law. We have also chosen to postpone the introduction of two taxes (which I know are particularly, let’s say, frowned upon there) that would have had a considerable impact on our production system: the plastic tax and the sugar tax, affecting above all companies in Italy’s northern regions.

We have done all this; clearly, we have completed the first year of our term and still have a lot of work to do. However, what I want to tell you is that this Government’s doors will always be open to those wanting to offer proposals, insights and concrete solutions to the problems we have. I am certain, I know that your associations will always play a leading role along this path; I know, I’ve experienced this. We want to deliver on the commitments we have made to Italians; no one knows better than those who do business how important it is to keep one’s word. This is also why you are ideal discussion partners for serious, responsible policy-making. We can therefore only draw on this example and continue with our work, the aim of which is to make Italy able to think big, able to live up to its history, able to live up to its entrepreneurs, once again playing a key, leading role above all at international level.

So, thank you for your cooperation, thank you for your example, thank you for the work you do and, of course, I wish you all the best with your work at this assembly!

[Courtesy translation]