"The adoption of additional measures for small and medium-sized enterprises assumes particular importance for the Italian economy, considering that 81% of the workforce is employed in them and that they represent 71% of the national added value". The final document drawn up and unanimously approved by the Chamber's Productive Activities commission on the revision of the Small Business act, which constitutes the main EU policy initiative in favor of small and medium-sized enterprises, starts from these premises.
The document concludes a series of hearings on the revision of the Small Business Act with the aim of evaluating progress in its implementation, in addressing the major obstacles to the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, and in outlining new measures in response to the problems posed by the current economic context: the translation into concrete measures of the guidelines of the review could give further impetus to small and medium-sized companies - reads the document - in particular through strategies aimed at their development and the removal of the many constraints that block the competitiveness of the country system.
And the occasion serves precisely to suggest some interventions. Here they are: 1) to support the adoption of the acronym MPMI (Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) at Community level; 2) make the «SME test» effective, providing for each measure the assessment of the impact of the burdens on businesses, in particular the SMEs, envisaging the corresponding reduction of other burdens; 3) apply the principles of the "Intelligent lawmaking" communication, starting the elimination of the additional rules introduced during the transposition phase of the European directives; 4) ensure that, in the transition to electronic invoicing both between companies and between companies and the public administration, the credit system recognizes such documents as certification and subtracts the amounts envisaged by the invoices from the calculation of credit lines; 5) ensure that in the measures being drafted regarding the exclusive use of payment systems between companies that allow traceability through the use of electronic money, a share of no less than 20 percent of the commissions applied by credit institutions is paid to the central guarantee fund; 6) amend the legislation on severance indemnities providing for the possibility that, in the event of a worker's lack of an option, it can be left in the company; 7) transpose the directive on the fight against late payments in commercial transactions before the deadline and set up a roundtable aimed at formulating proposals for solving the payment problem of the Public Administration; 8) to encourage the participation of MSMEs in the planning of initiatives and in the review of internationalization tools; 9) provide specific forms of support for MSMEs in energy efficiency policies; 10) reduce the time and costs for setting up a business, for obtaining licenses and permits, giving a second chance to entrepreneurs, reducing the terms for rehabilitation and liquidation to a maximum of three years by 2013 for honest entrepreneurs of debts after bankruptcy, also through computerized procedures;11) provide forms of support in the generational transition of businesses; 12) to support the Italian entrepreneurial system and banking system in the European Union and international offices so that the introduction of the Basel 3 accords does not have effects of credit crunch towards MSMEs and GDP depression.
The document will now be forwarded to the Ministry of Economic Development so that it can form the basis for drafting the annual law for the protection and development of micro and small enterprises envisaged by the draft law on the Statute of enterprises, a proposal approved by the Chamber and currently in examination course at the Senate, in the Industry commission.
