More incentives with a 50% software bonus. It’s the Italian government’s move to enhance support for investments in Industry 4.0. The goal is to promote technological and digital transformation for businesses and, at the same time, to counter the effects of the political and military crisis in Ukraine.
Transition 4.0 and software tax credit
The tax credit rate provided for investments in intangible assets 4.0 grows from 20 to 50%. The Italian government aims to “support and encourage companies that invest in new, tangible and intangible capital goods, functional to the technological and digital transformation of production processes destined for production facilities located in the territory of the State.”
The increase is envisaged for investments in software with Industry 4.0 characteristics (Annex B of Law 232/2016) made in 2022 and until June 30, 2023 if the order has been confirmed to the supplier and a deposit of at least 20% of the total value of the assets has been paid by next December 31st. In addition to the intangible assets indicated in Annex B of Law 232/2016, the expenses incurred in relation to the use of the assets themselves can also be facilitated through solutions with shared and connected computing resources (Cloud computing).
The benefit is aimed at all businesses resident in the State, including permanent establishments of non-resident entities, regardless of their legal nature, their economic sector, their size, their accounting regime, and the system for determining income for the purposes tax.
As indicated by the government, to access the 50% software bonus “the sockets are required to produce a sworn technical report issued by an engineer or an industrial expert registered in the respective professional registers or a certificate of conformity issued by a certification body accredited, showing that the goods possess technical characteristics such as to include them respectively in the lists referred to in the aforementioned attachments A and B and are interconnected to the company production management system or to the supply network.”
Article 21
From the Official Gazette: Increase in tax credit for investments in intangible assets 4.0
- For investments involving assets included in attachment B annexed to law no. 232, carried out starting from January 1, 2022 and up to December 31, 2022, or by June 30, 2023, provided that by December 31, 2022 the relative order is accepted by the seller and the advance payment has been made at least equal to 20 percent of the acquisition cost, the measure of the tax credit provided for by article 1, paragraph 1058, of law no. 178, is raised to 50 percent.
- To the charges deriving from this article, valued at € 15.7 million for the year 2022, € 19.6 million for each of the years 2023 and 2024 and € 3.9 million for the year 2025, provides pursuant to article 58.