No shift from new tax system
Even after the introduction of the presumptive minimum income, setting up a sole proprietorship remains the best way to escape high tax and social security deductions; this is the main reason why in January-March – with the new tax regime in full force – the establishment of new sole proprietorships hit a three-year high of 24,650.
ELSTAT’s data may reflect a major rise in the number of new companies (they reached 39,000 from 34,000 in 2023 and 27,000 in 2022), but data processing shows this increase hides the ever-growing interest in micro-business activity. It is no coincidence that of the tens of thousands of new companies established each quarter, the usually larger and capital-intensive companies are limited to 450-600 per quarter, accounting for 1.1%-1.5% of total starts.
The figures for new companies in Q1 are the first to be published after the activation of the new law on the minimum presumptive income, which essentially concerns sole proprietorships. The fact that the starts are the most recorded since the first quarter of 2021 shows that for now at least, there has been no negative impact from the change in the tax system.
