The main consequence of the Sez is the possibility for companies to take advantage of important tax concessions and to benefit from significant administrative and bureaucratic simplifications.
- REDUCTION OF THE INCOME TAX OF 50%
Law 178/2020 (Budget Law 2021) introduces a 50% reduction in income tax, for companies that undertake a new economic initiative within the Special Economic Zones
Pursuant to art. 1, paragraph 173 of the aforementioned law, the benefit operates from the tax period in which the new business was undertaken and for the six subsequent tax periods.
The use of this benefit is subject to compliance with the following conditions:
a) the beneficiary companies maintain their activity in the Sez area for at least 10 years;
b) companies keep the jobs created within the Sez for at least 10 years.
The facilitation is due in compliance with the limits and conditions set out in EU regulation no. 1407/2013 of the Commission, of 18 December 2013, relating to the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to “de minimis” aid. The total amount of “de minimis” aid granted by a Member State to a single company cannot exceed 200,000 euros over three financial years.
- INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT
With art. 5 of the decree-law n. 91 of 2017, the tax credit introduced with the 2016 Stability Law was extended to investments made in the SEZs.
With the D.L. 77/2021, the tax credit for investments made in the SEZs was also recognized for the purchase of properties used for investments, while the maximum limit for each investment project was raised to € 100 million.
The intensity of the tax credit is related to the size of the investment, with differences based on the region in which it is made and the size of the company.
For businesses in Abruzzo, the tax credit attributed to the maximum extent of:
• 30% for small companies
• 20% for medium-sized companies
• 10% for large companies
for expenses deemed eligible up to a maximum of € 100 million.
- In addition to national subsidies, businesses that start up an economic activity in the areas identified within the Zes Abruzzo are granted additional regional and municipal incentives, including tax benefits for innovative start-ups, support for research and innovation and access to the funds allocated by the POR FESR 2022-2027 (Axes I, II and III).
The tax credit can be combined with de minimis aid and with other state aid having as object the same costs eligible for the benefit, provided that such accumulation does not lead to the exceeding of the highest aid intensity or amount permitted by the relevant European reference disciplines.
In particular, the accumulation must always respect the maximum limit referred to in the percentages indicated above.
The total benefits must not exceed the investment. Specifically, the tax credit is determined by applying the aforementioned percentages of 30%, 20% or 10% to the cost of capital goods and decreasing the relative result by the amount of aid granted or requested in relation to the same investments.
BENEFICIARIES
Entities with business income can benefit from the SEZ tax credit, identifiable on the basis of art. 55 of the TUIR, which make investments in capital goods, including through financial leasing, intended for new economic activities located in the SEZ.
Aid can be granted to SMEs for any form of initial investment, as well as to large companies only for an initial investment in favor of a new economic activity in the area concerned (paragraph 3 of article 14 of Regulation (EU) no. 651 / 2014 of the Commission of 17 June 2014 (so-called GBER).
Therefore, in the communication model for the use of the tax credit, large companies that make investments in assisted areas are required to submit a substitute declaration pursuant to Articles 75 and 76 of the Presidential Decree n. 445 of 2000 to certify that the investment project carried out / to be carried out refers to a new economic activity.
The recognition of the facility described above is subject to compliance with the following conditions:
- The beneficiary companies must maintain their business in the SEZ area for at least seven years after the completion of the investment subject to the subsidy;
- The beneficiary companies must not be in a state of liquidation or dissolution.
The concession does not apply to subjects operating in the steel, coal, shipbuilding, synthetic fibers, transport and related infrastructure, production and distribution of energy and energy infrastructure sectors, as well as to the credit sectors , financial and insurance.
Furthermore, the facility does not apply to companies in difficulty (as well as individual from the communication of the European Commission 2014 / C 249/01, of 31 July 2014).
For the SEZ tax credit, subjects operating in the agriculture and fishing and aquaculture sectors are also excluded from the benefit.
HOW TO OBTAIN THE TAX CREDIT
To benefit from the tax credit, the interested parties must submit a specific communication to the Revenue Agency in which the data of the eligible investments and the tax credit for which authorization for use is required must be indicated.
The authorization or not to use the tax credit is communicated by the Revenue Agency electronically by means of a specific receipt certifying the usability or otherwise of the tax credit.
The beneficiary can use the accrued tax credit only in compensation pursuant to Article 17 of Legislative Decree n. 241/1997, by submitting the F24 form exclusively through the electronic services of the Revenue Agency (Entratel or Fisconline), starting from the fifth day following the date of issue of the receipt certifying the usability of the tax credit, under penalty of refusal of payment transaction.
In the event that the amount of the tax credit used, even taking into account previous credit offsets, is higher than the amount indicated in the receipt issued by the Revenue Agency, the related F24 form is discarded.
