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«Initiatives such as the Fashion Table, promoted since its establishment by the Government and in particular by the Ministry of Economic Development and Made in Italy, have been signs of interest for the fashion system extended to sectors such as eyewear, cosmetics and goldsmithery – explains Carlo Capasa, president of the National Chamber of Fashion –. Starting and counting on this willingness to listen, we decided to present a document to the executive, detailed in twelve points that we consider priorities for our system, in particular in view of the budget law”.
Capasa underlines that these are not requests for bonuses, grants or other non-refundable allocations, but rather support for a sector that contributes to the growth of the country’s GDP, the trade balance, employment and, last but not least, all the image of Italy abroad. «Every euro invested in textiles-fashion-accessories and in the adjacent sectors generates at least 6-7 euros, a true multiplier effect which however must be triggered and supported, especially in a complex economic period like this – adds Capasa –. In 2022 the Tma grew by double digits, in the first half of the year the turnover increased by 6% and for the whole year, in light of the global slowdown, we still expect growth of 4.5%, more than four times higher than the figure overall Italian GDP”.
It is on these numbers that the requests to the Government of the Chamber of Fashion are based, which has long been coordinating with the other associations in the sector, Altagamma, Confindustria Moda and Pitti Immagine. This is a sector that has already returned well above pre-Covid levels, which has exceeded one hundred billion in turnover, has an export of 90% and, directly alone, employs 600 thousand people. And precisely for this reason the first seven points of the document presented to the executive are grouped under the heading “Strengthening and strengthening of businesses with consequent positive effects on employment” and range from the strengthening of the patent box to the valorisation of the intangible assets of Made in Italy businesses Italy (the so-called Aura). But there is also the strengthening of the tax credit for design and aesthetic creation activities, an issue that has been unresolved for some time, and the strengthening of corporate welfare.
«There are issues, in particular environmental and social sustainability, on which the Tma is very advanced – underlines Capasa -. However, for our system and for the entire country, there is a need for a real streamlining of bureaucracy.” This is what two other points submitted to the Government refer to: the first is the exemption from the obligation to draw up the accounting certification of the tax credit for investments in research, development and innovation. The second is a definitive clarification on the interpretation of the regulations on the tax credit in research and development relating to the textile, clothing and footwear sectors.
«The last three points are linked to training and transfer of know-how to strengthen employment – concludes the president of the Chamber of Fashion -. We are aware, as a system, that we have not done enough in the past years, perhaps decades, to tell young people and their families about the textile-fashion professions and related sectors and their evolution and we are committed to improving this narrative. But the fact remains that in the coming years, to continue to grow and be a strong point of Made in Italy, the fashion system needs 40 thousand new employees. This is why we ask for the reintroduction and strengthening of the Training 4.0 tax credit, the introduction of a non-repayable contribution for company academies and incentives for the generational transfer of skills.”