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...