The labor market in Italy, as reiterated and underlined several times, is in a worrying state. Negative wage growth over the last thirty years, low productivity, high unemployment especially among young people and women. However, there is another phenomenon that should give cause for concern: that of self-employed workers.<\/p>\n
According to the data OECD<\/a>, in fact, the incidence of self-employed workers (i.e. the number of self-employed out of the total number of workers) is clearly higher in Italy than in our European partners: 21.8% of the workforce would in fact be classified as self-employed, against a European average of 14.5%. Even more merciless is the comparison with reference countries such as Germany and France, at 8.8 and 12.6 respectively.<\/p>\n More interesting, however, is the difference by educational qualification. In our country, the highest incidence of self-employed workers concerns low-skilled and highly-skilled people. On the other hand, the sectors in which the density of self-employed workers is higher allows us to better understand these data: if on the one hand we have lawyers and architects, on the other hand there are professions that do not require qualifications.<\/p>\n Given the high incidence of the self-employed on the workforce in our country, it is necessary to ask ourselves what are the problems that arise from it and above all what the solutions could be.<\/p>\n The main problem is obviously that of fake VAT numbers. Although they are self-employed, the work of these fake VAT numbers is purely an employee: employee hours, permanent work in the studio or company, without however the benefits of employee work. A particularly felt phenomenon for example among architects<\/a>: the Instagram page Reorganization of the Architects<\/a> has shown over the years the difficulty for architects to enter various studios as employees, thus leaving only the path of the VAT number open. This is not typical only of small provincial studios, they explain, but also of renowned studios which, while boasting very few employees on paper, then present a vast plethora of collaborators in their presentations on the official website.<\/p>\n As they explain<\/a> lawyers Danilo Lombardo and Raffaella Calamandrei, it is not easy to discern a subordinate relationship from an independent one especially in certain sectors. At first, explains Calamandrei, the Fornero labor reform of 2012 intervened to try to stem the phenomenon, clarifying the conditions for work to be considered subordinate: a fixed place of work, for example a reserved position in the study, the specification of the collaboration and conditions on turnover.<\/p>\n The use of VAT numbers depends both on the flexibility with which the employer can terminate the contract compared to an employee and on the lower costs it entails. While these are often viewed as scourges affecting the Italian labor market, studies show that there are heavily negative effects of labor market flexibility on productivity. The use of false VAT numbers contributes to worsening the dynamics of our country's productivity.<\/p>\n VAT number, says Michele Razzetti<\/a> on Vanity Fair<\/em>, that's not a problem in itself. There are many professionals, both in the field of architecture and in other fields, who from VAT numbers manage to have both economic and professional success. On the contrary, however, the false VAT numbers incorporate the worst sides of both worlds: on the one hand the low salaries and the lack of autonomy of employees, on the other the lack of protection. These are two other problems that politics and public debate should pay attention to.<\/p>\n First of all, therefore, there is the issue of protection for VAT numbers, despite the fact that over the years there has been an improvement from this point of view, with the Jobs act<\/em> of self-employed workers<\/a>, of the Gentiloni government which recognized a series of rights for self-employed workers. And then with the introduction in 2021 of the ISCRO<\/a>, a redundancy fund for self-employed workers: the pandemic has had a serious effect on the category, left alone in the face of uncertain prospects. On the other hand, the lack of protection is, according to experts, one of the factors that is driving the decrease in VAT numbers<\/a> in our country.<\/p>\n Then there is the need for a network to plug into. Self-employed workers, unlike employees, are often characterized by an approach to portfolio<\/em>, then with a number of different customers. Often, however, those who want to become self-employed lacks assistance<\/a> to build this network of contacts. This leads to an extremely competitive system with no way out, especially for sectors such as cultural work. A sector devoid of protection and outlets in which there is more and more talk of gods anxiety problems<\/a>, stress and deterioration of the mental health of those involved.<\/p>\n Finally, there is the issue of taxation. Over the years, precisely by virtue of the high presence of self-employed workers, successive governments have introduced tax reforms in some way to accommodate self-employed workers. In particular the introduction of the flat-rate scheme. The aim was also to simplify the jungle of concessions that previously included the minimum regime or that of new production initiatives, just to give two examples.<\/p>\n Why is this a questionable tax regime? In fact, the problem lies precisely in the very idea of flat tax<\/em>, a workhorse of the right who would like to reform the IRPEF by pushing the country in that direction. Going into detail, the main problem of the flat tax<\/em> on the self-employed concerns in particular the threshold value. Since up to a certain value (which we have seen to be 85,000 euros) the self-employed worker enjoys preferential taxation, this encourages evasion and avoidance. In fact, the self-employed worker will try to reduce the tax base on which he will then pay taxes in order to return to the interested party.<\/p>\n This is demonstrated by the data on tax evasion. According to the data of Report on the unobserved economy and on contributory tax evasion<\/em><\/a>, it is precisely the IRPEF from self-employment that is mostly evaded. Furthermore, while in recent years we have seen a decrease in tax evasion in Italy and a decrease in the propensity to evade VAT, the IRPEF from self-employment has seen an increase of the same by 3.2% between 2015 and 2019.<\/p>\n However, the problems of taxation of VAT numbers are not finished. On the one hand, the high uncertainty on the threshold, which is periodically used by politics for mere electoral calculation, leads to considerable difficulties in compiling the business plans<\/em>; on the other we are often talking about a small number of VAT numbers. According to the calculations of the ACTA association, the recent reform of the flat-rate regime desired by the Meloni government would affect 2.7% of VAT numbers, around 100,000 taxpayers out of a total of over 3 million. A somewhat incomprehensible choice if one considers that there is a large part of self-employed workers who are considered as worker<\/a>or<\/a>re poor<\/a>. While the Meloni government has thought of acting by effectively cutting taxes for the more affluent, it has done nothing for the workers most in difficulty.<\/p>\n No less important is the difference in treatment between employed and self-employed workers: a self-employed worker with the same income pays up to three times less than an employee, this already in the face of a substantial difference with respect to tax evasion.<\/p>\n Despite the problems just expressed, self-employment enjoys a fair amount of popularity On the other hand, in Italy for years the myth of the permanent job, agitated more by newspapers and culture than by the population, no longer exists, outclassed by dreams of wealth and "self made man<\/em>\u201d. A hope that however collides with an almost non-existent social mobility: in Italy those who are born poor remain poor. And which perhaps manifests the desire for redemption with respect to a world of work based increasingly on low wages, working hours that are irreconcilable with private life and scarce career opportunities. This desire, however, risks remaining irreconcilable with reality.<\/p>\n __________________________<\/p>\n Note<\/em><\/p>\n The "false VAT numbers"<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n This distinction arises from the need to stem an ever-growing phenomenon: that of fake matches<\/strong> VAT <\/strong>which conceal collaborations of a completely different nature, in which the element of subordination is found.<\/span><\/p>\n The expression "subordinate work" means a relationship whereby the worker undertakes to make his work available to an employer in a continuous and subordinate<\/strong>, receiving in return a remuneration for the activity carried out, the protection of the rights established by law (e.g. paid holidays and sickness, compensation in the event of involuntary dismissal, periods of<\/span> expectation<\/a> for serious reasons, etc.) and social security coverage.<\/span><\/p>\n Therefore, by entering into a subordinate employment relationship with a company, the worker undertakes a "relationship" bound by a contract, aimed at establishing - among other things - the number of working hours and the salary received. Conversely, if the same subject decides to<\/span> open a VAT number<\/a> to collaborate with a company, a public body, etc., he still has a contract to regulate his work, but he will be free to choose how and when to dedicate himself to it, with the only constraint being the achievement of objectives.<\/span><\/p>\n A self-employed contract is different from any employment. With a self-employment contract, no one will ever be able to force you to follow the hours, days and places of work. At most, they will be able to suggest you choose a useful day to spend in the company and\/or indicate intermediate deliveries, thanks to which you can better organize the\u00a0workflows<\/em>. Working on your own means having the possibility to establish timetables, dictate economic requests and choose the most comfortable position. In fact, it is a choice that many make to have greater flexibility. When we talk about false VAT numbers<\/strong>however, any distinction becomes complex: sometimes, those who choose to take the path of economic freedom then find themselves having to stay in the office for the "canonical" eight working hours or to comply with very stringent rules.<\/span><\/p>\n The Law makes a difference between those who can be considered gods false VAT numbers<\/strong> and individuals who carry out \u201catypical\u201d self-employment. The following are exempt from the obligation to identify a specific project:<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fedaiisf.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/P.IVA-Autonomi-in-Europa.png\")
The data of CEDEFOP<\/a> (European Center for the Development of Vocational Training), allow a more granular analysis of the phenomenon. In line with what emerges at European level, also in Italy more men are classified as self-employed workers: 15% for women and 24% for men,<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fedaiisf.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/p.iva-sessu-1.png\")
while in Europe the average is 9% and 17%.<\/p>\nWhat are the problems?<\/h3>\n
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Later also the Jobs act <\/em>intervened trying to regulate the matter and counter the phenomenon. Even today, however, the situation is somewhat unstable from a legal point of view. But it is from an economic point of view that the situation becomes more dramatic.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fedaiisf.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/dichiarazione-IVA-F24.jpeg\")
The flat-rate regime provides for a single tax rate of 15%, with the exception of falling to 5% for new businesses below a certain threshold, a sort of flat tax for self-employed workers. At first, the Renzi government set various limits for the various categories of self-employed workers. With the passing of governments, however, this threshold was raised first to 65,000 euros and finally by the Meloni government to 85,000 euros.<\/p>\nSelf-employment and entrepreneurship<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fedaiisf.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/art.-2222-cc-lavoro-autonomo.jpeg\")
especially among the very young. A recent survey<\/a> carried out on recent graduates shows how a good majority of young people are aiming for self-employment or entrepreneurial experience. Only the 25% of young people is aiming for an employee job, while the 35% has not yet dissolved the reserve. On the one hand, the fact that young people want to pursue an entrepreneurial or self-employed career is commendable and appreciable, but at the same time one wonders whether the painting is the result of a certain narrative or an objective assessment of the working situation.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fedaiisf.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ISF-valigietta_33797_1.jpeg\")
Law n.92\/2012 has defined two types of employment contracts: subordinate and self-employed.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fedaiisf.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/patita-iva.jpeg\")
In the case of Scientific Representatives, a distinction must be made between scientific representatives of prescription drugs who must follow Legislative Decree 219\/06 and scientific representatives of parapharmaceuticals, meaning generically with parapharmaceuticals the substances and products commonly sold in pharmacies (OTC, supplements, nutraceuticals , dermocosmetics, milk for babies, devices, etc.).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n