STUDIES AND RULES
- GDPR 2016/670 on data protection (19 February 2018)
The EU Regulation 2016/679 on data protection was adopted on 27 April 2016 and is known as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). The regulation which is applicable from 25 May 2018 replaces the Directive on privacy that has been in force since 1995. The purpose of the regulation is to reform, update, and standardize legislation in the field of the protection and free movement of personal data. By “personal data” is meant all information relating to an individual and to his or her professional and public figure. The GDPR distinguishes between the data controller, the data processing officer and the subject concerned, i.e. the person to whom the data relate.
What do businesses need to do?
The GDPR requires companies to review the systems to manage data within their own organizational structures in order to prevent the loss and incorrect sharing of these. With the new regulation the data processing officer oversees the data controller and not the other way around. Companies must therefore nominate a Data Protection Officer (DPO) whose task is to oversee the internal organizational processes and who must be an expert in data protection law and techniques.
Companies that do not adapt to the dispositions of the GDPR by the deadline shall be subject to penalties of up to EUR 20 million, or up to 4% of the global volume of business as registered the previous year. In addition, anyone who suffers material or immaterial damage has the right to compensation caused by violation of the rule.
- Art Bonus: when the entrepreneur becomes a Patron of Culture! (16/01/2018)
The Art Bonus is a provision issued by the Ministry of Cultural Assets and Activities, aimed at increasing awareness among citizen lovers of a territory, leading to everyone become Patrons of Culture, each in their own small way. Thanks to donations that everyone can make without a taxable minimum in favour of some interventions identified by the municipalities concerned and aimed at the upkeep and livelihood of some local and national historical sites. The interventions that can be sponsored by a free donation are of three types:
- Maintenance, protection, and restoration of public cultural heritage;
- Support for institutions and public cultural venues, opera and symphonic foundations, traditional theatres;
- Construction, restoration, and improvement of structures for public entertainment authorities and institutes.
The website http://artbonus.govit/ricerca.html shows which interventions it is possible to finance. N.B.: Art Bonus allows a tax credit equal to 65% of the amount donated, for anyone who makes donations in support of Italian public cultural heritage.
- Trademarks+3 (9/01/2018)
Please note that the Ministry of Economic Development has allocated more than €3,825,000 in favour of Italian SMEs that have registered, starting from 1 June 2016, or will register one or more European Union or international trademarks. The scheme provides facilities to register a trademark at the European Union and/or international level. In particular, it is possible to finance up to 80% (90% in the case of a designation of the USA and China in the case of an international trademark) in respect of the maximum amounts provided for by the scheme.
Each business may submit multiple requests for relief, up to a ceiling of €20,000. Resources will be allocated with an evaluation at each branch office, according to the chronological order of presentation. The start date of requests for relief has been set as 7 March 2018.
For more information: http://www.uibm.govit/index.php /06-12-2017-marchi-3
- Budget Law 2018 (28/12/2017) Hyperamortization
Confirmed – but with changes and integrations – the hyperamortization that will continue for another full year, until 31/12/2018, with submissions up to 31/12/2019 if a deposit has been paid amounting to at least 20% of the order.
In fact, the possibility has been introduced of replacing “work in progress”, i.e. during the period of amortization, goods benefiting from the hyperamortization with other goods having characteristics that are not lower.
In addition to the intangible assets of Annex B (for which an increase to 140% has been confirmed), there are an additional three new entries relating to software for Virtual Reality, Logistics and Recommerce.
Superamortization
The superamortization has been confirmed for a further year (until 31/12/2018), but with reduced percentages and perimeter: in fact, the incentive drops from 140% to 130% and all vehicles are excluded, including those for exclusive use. For submissions there is time until 30 June 2019, provided the order is confirmed with a deposit equal to at least 20% of the total.
The Sabatini Law
The Nuova Sabatini has been refinanced with 330 million Euro and will continue until exhaustion of available resources.
Tax credits for training
Finally, tax credits for training expenses. The tax credit is equal to 40 % of the costs incurred for staff who have been trained in 4.0 technologies. In addition to technical areas, this includes marketing and sales. The incentive will only be valid for 2018 as an experiment. The resources allocated are 250 million, and the maximum ceiling of expenditure for tax relief is equal to 300 thousand Euro. The training programme is to be agreed with the workers, in accordance with second level union agreements (corporate or territorial).
- New European Regulation on Data Protection (26/11/2017)
(EU) REGULATION 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL OF 27 APRIL 2016
- Cybersecurity: the legal aspect (13/10/2017)
The coordinated cyber-attacks in Estonia of 2007, which led the international community to focus on cyber risks, led to the birth of the first Tallinn Manual which became a guide for governments around the world on the application of international law in this new context. The new edition of the Tallinn Manual 2.0, compiled by nineteen experts in international law, today represents a resource at the disposal of those responsible for IT problems in a legal context. The manual, whose implementation has been facilitated by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, is published by Cambridge University Press, and includes analyses of the most common IT incidents.
- What is your brand name worth? (9/7/2017)
A company’s brand name is what customers recognize and a source of differentiation with respect to competitors. From an economic point of view, a brand name summarizes the resources allocated by the undertaking to market competition and the investments made. Each brand name has an intrinsic and independent value, deriving from its potential to obtain for the company positive differential on turnover, thus representing a genuine critical success factor.
Understanding what a brand name is worth and promoting it then becomes a strategy which, after registration, the entrepreneur should implement with the aim of launching a real action plan that reveals the value of this fundamental intangible asset.
Today on the market there are “historical” businesses– with 50, 60 and 70 years of life; these are organizations which even when small/medium in size have a formidable reputation in their area of origin and in their market of reference with a legacy of consolidated and stable customers. These companies seldom register their brand name and only in some cases have strategies aimed at its exploitation while aware of the impact that the brand name has had, and still has, in maintaining customer loyalty.
Instilling serious reflection on one’s history, reputation and brand name today becomes crucial to begin a process of evaluating the brand name to identify its value also in the company’s financial statement.
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- Industry 4.0 (30/6/2017)
The fourth industrial revolution is linked to a set of technological factors and transversal skills. The world of training must accept this new challenge through innovative projects that can support new production methods. “Industry 4.0”, a term coined in Germany in 2012, is based on a set of networked technologies.
Rather than industrial this revolution is cultural and tends to modify the skills required to meet market demand. Knowing how to manage, solve problems, communicate, and organize work: there are 65 new professional profiles which, according to some think-tanks, will change our lives and the world of work.
Italy also has a programme for this eventuality (National Industry Plan 4.0), representing the second manufacturing industry in Europe, with a budget of 13 billion Euro to support innovative investments, realize political support tools, develop digital infrastructure and skills. The digital culture will be fundamental in this new context. All linear jobs manageable by a standard process will be replaced by machines and devices. The subjects of science, technology and creativity will be at the centre of the labour market. Knowing how to manage work groups and quickly overcome problems will lead to a change in society and
companies. The change of paradigm and the business model will result in a need to exploit new talents and skills in a world in which speed will be the critical success factor.
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