On 26 February 2024, with the approval of the PNRR decree-law by the Council of Ministers, the government officially introduced the
Transition Plan 5.0
. which aims to support investments in digitalisation and the green transition of companies through a new tax credit scheme. This is 6.3 billion euros, to be added to the 6.4 billion euros already provided for by the budget law (of which we had an in-depth analysis on startups in this article). A two-year period, 2024-2025, which therefore sees a total of 6.3 billion euros in favor of the digital and green transition of Italian companies. These resources will certainly have an impact on various sectors, among which the training, as reported in a note by the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso: “The Transition Plan 5.0 is the cornerstone of our industrial policy, to allow our companies to innovate to meet the challenge of the dual digital and green transition, in the two decisive years 2024/2025, in which geoeconomic structures are redesigned. In addition to investments in capital goods, the measure is also oriented towards the training of workers, because skills are the factor that makes the difference especially for our Made in Italy”. In fact, the Plan, in addition to a Automatic tax credit – without any prior assessment, without discrimination based on the size of the company, the sector of activity or its location -, and beyond the facilitation of investments in tangible and intangible assets – provided that a reduction in the energy consumption of the production unit of at least 3% (or 5% if calculated on the process involved in the investment) is achieved – provides Investments in new capital goods necessary for the self-production of energy from renewable sources and Expenses for the training of employees aimed at acquiring or consolidating skills in technologies for the digital and energy transition of production processes. The tax credit will be offset with the submission of the F24 in a single instalment and the excess not compensated by 31 December 2025 can be offset in 5 equal annual instalments.
What is needed in practice
– Make an investment in at least one of the assets provided for in Annexes A and B of the Transition 4.0 plan. It is expected that the goods must be interconnected to the company’s production management system or supply network. These goods must be included in an innovation project that allows a reduction in energy consumption to be achieved. And this reduction must be equal to at least 3% of the energy consumption of the production structure located in the national territory or at least 5% of the energy consumption of the processes involved in the investment. – There are a total of 9 tax rates. The rates, with a reduction of not less than 3% in the energy consumption of the production structure or, alternatively, a reduction of not less than 5% in the energy consumption of the processes involved in the investment, are:
- 35% for investments up to €2.5 million
- 15% for investments over €2.5 million and up to €10 million
- 5% for investments over €10 million and up to €50 million
The rates, with a reduction of more than 6% in the energy consumption of the production structure or, alternatively, a reduction of more than 10% in the energy consumption of the processes involved in the investment are:
- 40% for investments up to €2.5 million
- 20% for investments over €2.5 million and up to €10 million
- 10% for investments over €10 million and up to €50 million
The rates, with a reduction of more than 10% in the energy consumption of the production structure or, alternatively, a reduction of more than 15% in the energy consumption of the processes involved in the investment are:
- 45% for investments up to €2.5 million
- 25% for investments over €2.5 million and up to €10 million
- 15% for investments over €10 million and up to €50 million
- As far as personnel training expenses are concerned, they are allowed if they are aimed at acquiring or consolidating skills in technologies relevant to the digital and energy transition of production processes within the limit of 10% of the investments made in capital goods up to a maximum of 300 thousand euros.
- Finally, there are 4 documents that companies will have to produce before and after making the investment:
- communication to the Mimit ex ante (before)
- Ex ante certification (PRIMA)
- communication to the Mimit ex post (after)
- Ex-post certification (after)
Transition 5.0 is a modernization of what until last year had been
Transition 4.0
, Research & Development and Training 4.0. Good tools used by small companies, small industries, such as startups and innovative SMEs. Doing research and development costs money and the state did not seem willing to incentivize it for some time: from 50% in 2020 to 20% in 2022 to 10% in 2023 for investments in new capital goods. And the new Budget has not raised it. With Transition 5.0, although the percentage of tax credit varies depending on the investment and energy savings achieved, it seems to be the same as in 2023, as shown below:
| Year | Rate up to €2.5 million | Rate from €2.5 to €10 million | Rate from €10 to €20 million |
| 2020 | 50% | 30% | 10% |
| 2021 | 40% | 20% | 10% |
| 2022 | 40% | 20% | 10% |
| 2023 | 35% | 20% | 10% |
| 2024 | 35% | 20% | 10% |
(Photo by Karsten Würth on Unsplash)
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