Want to open a bar? You have to navigate a jungle of 71 formalities and 21 authorities. Then you want to put up a sign? You have to wait for the signatures of 12 more authorities.

A suffocating bureaucracy. A huge, double waste of time and money. An avalanche of regulations, which continue to be written, despite promises to simplify. And a doubt: Only a money launderer could have so much patience.

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COST OF ITALIAN BUREAUCRACY

COST OF ITALIAN BUREAUCRACY

Try to put yourself in the shoes of a young man who has a family that is not rich but is able to give him a little help, he has not done particularly brilliant studies, and yet he wants to to risk and go on your ownA young man like millions of Italians who in the 1950s and 1960s changed the face of the country and discovered the pleasure of small business, of doing things, and of well-being.

Now, with the current climate and the current trends in the market, it is likely that the enterprising young man we are talking about will think about opening a bar-cafeteria, Or a ice-cream shopA small venue, to be launched gradually and then try to grow. Impossible. Or at least very difficult.

The cost of Italian bureaucracy How much does bureaucracy cost in Italy 2

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BUREAUCRACY PROBLEM IN ITALY

The real obstacle that anyone with a minimum of initiative must overcome is called bureaucracyAnd in the case of opening a bar or an ice cream shop you need to arm yourself with holy patience and cross the jungle of 71 bureaucratic procedures, with stamps and signatures by 21 different entities (In the case of an ice cream shop, this becomes 26.) We'll spare you the list, but know that we're going to cover everything from the Highway Police to the Province (hadn't they been abolished?), from the National Roads Authority (ANAS) to the Local Health Authorities (ASL).

The ordeal immediately translates into a double waste, money and timeYears must pass before you can finally open the shutters, and perhaps market conditions have completely changed. And just to start the process, you have to dig into your wallet and pull out 14.667 euros for the bar e 12.260 euros for the ice cream shopA bureaucratic theft, a routine one.

Then there are the extra charges, where raffles are played. There are regions and municipalities that don't allow them, others that instead screw you. Turin and Genoa they make you pay 50 euros in stamp duty for administrative fees, in Biella zero. Who knows, perhaps in Turin and Genoa they have a pen with a special ink when they sign these paperwork, which is very expensive, and therefore requires a reimbursement to be paid to the citizens. The certificate of habitability is generally obtained free of charge, but in Sicilia, perhaps due to the particular climatic conditions of the region, they ask for a fee of 1.500 € and at least 60 days before closing the case. More costs, more waste, more signatures.

The cost of Italian bureaucracy How much does bureaucracy cost in Italy 3

BUREAUCRACY IN ITALY

Let me be clear: bureaucracy is useful, and if it weren't for it, Italy would be even more of a Wild West country than it appears today. But this bureaucracy not only undermines, not only discourages any initiative, but also guarantees no transparency. We are the leading country in Europe for building abuses And for swathes of land that have been devoured by construction of various kinds. Yet in Italy, obtaining even the most basic building permit takes no less than 234 days, compared to 184 in France and 97 in Germany. Just to put up a sign on that famous bar or ice cream shop the young man dreams of opening, there are another 12 authorities to convince.

Meanwhile, for more than ten years, we have had ministers for Simplification and ministers who announce radical cuts to laws and regulations, but in the same period others were written 300 standards which impact commercial activities and related permits. One blow after another, until the final question arises: under these conditions, apart from criminals laundering dirty money, who would have the patience to open a bar?

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