The global economic crisis has highlighted the importance of high levels of technology and innovation. Innovative enterprises, achieving rapid growth, attracting international investments and representing a driving force for sustainable development — understood as the ability to cope with the environmental, economic and social changes — have a broad impact both on overall productivity and on new job opportunities. Indeed, the innovative business activities, seeking alternative solutions, favor social challenges and help strengthen the thesis that sustainability may generate competitive advantages for companies. According to theoretical studies and empirical approaches, there is a link between taxation, innovation and sustainable development: the more a Government wants to ensure the birth, the growth, survival, and competitiveness of innovative and sustainable firms, the better it has to diversify and reinforce their national entrepreneurship ecosystem. A suitable solution is to develop new tax rules that support them. This view considers that profitable fiscal policies addressed to help innovative and sustainable firms can achieve both resource efficiency and competitiveness. Besides, it explains why the Italian Government — initially with the Decree-Law no. 179/2012 on “Further urgent measures for Italy’s economic growth”, converted into Law no. 221/2012 and then with several other actions, during the last six years — has designed and implemented a long-term and manifold strategy, which now stands out for a synergic operation, in order to support the innovative entrepreneurship. The Institution has also been careful to consider those firms that pursue a social goal or operate in the energy field. In line with the previous assumption, tax rules represent the most important part of the reform. They consist of a set of advantages and incentives that, if conferred to undertakings by national public authorities, have to comply with the European Union's State aid rules. Their potential is, also, emphasized by the provision of a work for equity scheme and of a regulatory regime of crowdfunding and by the interaction with measures like the Patent box, the Research and Development tax credit, the Super and Hyper Depreciation and the Allowance for corporate equity. The study tries to fill the existing gap in the literature on the synergy between addressed tax policies provided in favor of innovative entrepreneurship in line with Eu State aid rules, development, and sustainability. Moreover, it has the aim to frame the role of Italian tax policy in support of innovative entrepreneurship. Indeed, the Government has contributed to ensuring their growth due to a “progressive combined action”, monitoring and amending the measures not incurring the European ban on State aid. The scientific methodology chosen to develop the research includes the following essential steps. Initially, the study proposes an overview on Italian legislation to verify why it is compatible with the European rules and then an analysis highlighting its remarkable outcomes. The previous steps allow underlining the importance of the legislation, in terms of innovation and sustainability. Subsequently, following the development of the Italian strategy during the last six years, the outcomes are deepened reinforcing the initial assumption: the importance of an addressed fiscal policy for a sustainable development of an innovative business ecosystem. At least, the objective of the researcher is to provide some valuable suggestions for European policymakers and entrepreneurs: the framework, indeed, can represent a model, even if perfectible, for European policymakers developing fiscal policies with the same goal of growth and sustainability of the innovative business ecosystem and an inspiration for enlightened entrepreneurs. The new rules started to work better as soon as the Italian Government has periodically introduced some changes while evaluating their performance in connection with the market response. Consequently, future research could investigate further solutions for enhancing the effort done. It could be also, interesting deepen the effectiveness of similar measures by including in the analysis other Member States which have adopted similar policies, to improve the validity of the Italian outcomes as a model.

Fiscal policy for sustainable development: the Italian way to promote innovative entrepreneurship according to European Union rules

ACCORDINO P.
Primo
Writing – Review & Editing
2020-01-01

Abstract

The global economic crisis has highlighted the importance of high levels of technology and innovation. Innovative enterprises, achieving rapid growth, attracting international investments and representing a driving force for sustainable development — understood as the ability to cope with the environmental, economic and social changes — have a broad impact both on overall productivity and on new job opportunities. Indeed, the innovative business activities, seeking alternative solutions, favor social challenges and help strengthen the thesis that sustainability may generate competitive advantages for companies. According to theoretical studies and empirical approaches, there is a link between taxation, innovation and sustainable development: the more a Government wants to ensure the birth, the growth, survival, and competitiveness of innovative and sustainable firms, the better it has to diversify and reinforce their national entrepreneurship ecosystem. A suitable solution is to develop new tax rules that support them. This view considers that profitable fiscal policies addressed to help innovative and sustainable firms can achieve both resource efficiency and competitiveness. Besides, it explains why the Italian Government — initially with the Decree-Law no. 179/2012 on “Further urgent measures for Italy’s economic growth”, converted into Law no. 221/2012 and then with several other actions, during the last six years — has designed and implemented a long-term and manifold strategy, which now stands out for a synergic operation, in order to support the innovative entrepreneurship. The Institution has also been careful to consider those firms that pursue a social goal or operate in the energy field. In line with the previous assumption, tax rules represent the most important part of the reform. They consist of a set of advantages and incentives that, if conferred to undertakings by national public authorities, have to comply with the European Union's State aid rules. Their potential is, also, emphasized by the provision of a work for equity scheme and of a regulatory regime of crowdfunding and by the interaction with measures like the Patent box, the Research and Development tax credit, the Super and Hyper Depreciation and the Allowance for corporate equity. The study tries to fill the existing gap in the literature on the synergy between addressed tax policies provided in favor of innovative entrepreneurship in line with Eu State aid rules, development, and sustainability. Moreover, it has the aim to frame the role of Italian tax policy in support of innovative entrepreneurship. Indeed, the Government has contributed to ensuring their growth due to a “progressive combined action”, monitoring and amending the measures not incurring the European ban on State aid. The scientific methodology chosen to develop the research includes the following essential steps. Initially, the study proposes an overview on Italian legislation to verify why it is compatible with the European rules and then an analysis highlighting its remarkable outcomes. The previous steps allow underlining the importance of the legislation, in terms of innovation and sustainability. Subsequently, following the development of the Italian strategy during the last six years, the outcomes are deepened reinforcing the initial assumption: the importance of an addressed fiscal policy for a sustainable development of an innovative business ecosystem. At least, the objective of the researcher is to provide some valuable suggestions for European policymakers and entrepreneurs: the framework, indeed, can represent a model, even if perfectible, for European policymakers developing fiscal policies with the same goal of growth and sustainability of the innovative business ecosystem and an inspiration for enlightened entrepreneurs. The new rules started to work better as soon as the Italian Government has periodically introduced some changes while evaluating their performance in connection with the market response. Consequently, future research could investigate further solutions for enhancing the effort done. It could be also, interesting deepen the effectiveness of similar measures by including in the analysis other Member States which have adopted similar policies, to improve the validity of the Italian outcomes as a model.
2020
978-3-030-42629-3
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11570/3193921
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