EMPLOYMENT: COMMISSION APPROVES ITALIAN FISCAL INCENTIVES FOR JOB CREATION.

• Position: Brief article

The scheme has two main components:

- A deduction from IRAP for all firms in Italy that create new jobs. A yearly deduction in the tax base of up to euro 20,000 is foreseen for each new job created from now until the end of December 2007.

- Higher deductions for firms operating in the assisted area of the Mezzogiorno, where the rate of unemployment is higher than in other parts of Italy. Here the deduction can reach euro 100,000 per job created. In other assisted areas, deductions are capped at euro 60,000.

The estimated reductions in tax revenue are euro 471 million for the country-wide deduction and euro 846 million for the additional deduction in assisted areas. The measure will only...