Inter CEO Beppe Marotta has described the recent government decision to abolish the Growth Decree as an ‘own goal’ for Italian football and the country’s economy.
The Growth Decree had effectively been an incentive to bring foreign talents to Italy, not necessarily just in football, offering employers discounts of up to 50% on taxes payable for wages.
The Growth Decree had helped clubs to sign players that may have otherwise been out of their reach financially speaking.
Reports began to circulate on Thursday that a decision had been taken to abandon an extension to the Growth Decree, which would have lasted until February. The timing of the call could have a complicated impact for Serie A sides in the January transfer window and beyond.
Marotta spoke to Sky Sport Italia on Friday afternoon, explaining why he believes the decision will have a negative impact on Italian football.
“At a time when Italian football is climbing up the European rankings, at a time when three Italian teams have participated as finalists in the three most important European competitions, at a time when two Italian clubs will participate in the Club World Cup, the abolition of this tax relief from the growth decree represents an own goal for the world of football and for the country’s economy,” he said.
A predicted impact of the end to the Growth Decree will be an increased reliance on homegrown Italian players in Serie A.
However, not being able to sign top-level foreign talents quite as easily as before is not something that Marotta is looking forward to.
“The tax relief represented a tool to facilitate players of clear quality coming into Italy, but today this absolutely represents a handicap.
“Consequently, there will be a decrease in the quality of the football, not just directly, but also for the related activities that it provides.”
“The production of Italian players was certainly not directly helped by this tax break, which favoured the entry of foreign players. But, having quality players around allowed our young players to grow in an experienced environment and therefore, I absolutely believe that homegrown players will not find any advantage from this abolition.”