The weight of bureaucracy on the turnover of small businesses fluctuates between 3% and 4%. And Italy, according to the World Economic Forum, ranks 142nd out of 144 countries for the quality of regulation. This is what emerges from the data of the first Observatory on Simplification of Assolombarda Confindustria Milano Monza and Brianza, which quantified the impact of the most onerous practices and obligations for the business activity. This was discussed this morning at the conference "Factor B - Bureaucracy as an element of the competitiveness of the country system", held at the Luigi Bocconi University.
“A slow and complex bureaucracy hinders the competitiveness of businesses and the development of the territory – declared Michele Angelo Verna, General Manager of Assolombarda Confindustria Milano Monza and Brianza -. Suffice it to say that, according to the results of the Observatory on Simplification, the cost of bureaucracy ranges from 160 euros for small businesses to 700 euros for a medium-sized company. It is no coincidence that 58% of international financial operators indicate the main cause of the lack of attractiveness of our country precisely in the regulatory and bureaucratic burden (AIBE 2014 data). Furthermore, in the index that measures the effectiveness of the Public Administration, considered the Government Effectiveness Index 2013 of the World Bank, Italy is twenty points below (67/100) the OECD average (87/100). And the fact that a 1% increase in the efficiency of the PA leads to an increase in per capita GDP of 0,9% (Confindustria 2014 data) certainly makes one think.
The meeting was also an opportunity to present "Stories of Ordinary Bureaucracy - SOB", a comic book - signed by Tiziano Riverso - designed to tell the most frequent difficulties experienced by businesses through the stories and reports of entrepreneurs. “The decision to describe in images the 'hell' of rules and procedures with which our companies have to deal every day has the primary intention of raising awareness of the difficulty of doing business, hoping for a simplification of the regulatory framework with the collaboration institutions – underlined Alvise Biffi, President of SMEs and Business Services of Assolombarda Confindustria Milano Monza and Brianza -. In fact, looking at the data from the Observatory on Simplification, it emerges that small and medium-sized enterprises spend around 45 and 190 days a year respectively on bureaucratic tasks for a dedicated collaborator”.
“The establishment of the Observatory on Simplification – concluded Michele Angelo Verna – responds to the need to give companies and institutional partners a concrete and measurable framework on which to intervene. We have been working for some time to simplify national, regional and local regulations for the benefit of 'doing business'. And, in this direction, we have dedicated an entire project of the Strategic Plan "Far Volare Milano" to bureaucratic streamlining.
Assolombarda Confindustria Milano Monza and Brianza, having already surveyed 53 institutional tables on the subject of bureaucracy, has decided to focus its efforts on a decisive action aimed at simplifying the most burdensome administrative procedures for companies, obtaining important regulatory interventions. For example, with regard to the Single Environmental Authorization, it promoted the establishment of the new unified regional forms, reducing inefficiencies and guaranteeing the interoperability of information systems between the various entities.
A novelty, now implemented at national level. Another valid example can be represented by some simplifications made to the communications and tax obligations to which companies are periodically required, including the suppression of the monthly communication to the Revenue Agency of the letters of intent received.
Furthermore, since February the Association has been alongside the "Anti-bureaucracy angels", an initiative promoted by the Lombardy Region and Unioncamere, which sees thirty young graduates committed to helping businesses in relations with the Public Administration with the aim of creating an environment favorable to the development of companies in the area. And in this context, with the adoption of the Angel for Chemistry, Assolombarda Confindustria Milano Monza and Brianza has drawn up a proposal for the simplification of the complex environmental authorization procedures that concern companies in the sector.
