Good morning everyone,
my greetings go to President of the ‘Consiglio nazionale dei Dottori Commercialisti e degli Esperti Contabili’ [National Council of Italian Professional Accountants] de Nuccio and, of course, I thank him for the invitation. I wish to greet the Ministers and Authorities present, together with the presidents and members of the 131 territorial associations and all the delegates in attendance.
I would like to join you in remembering three of your colleagues who are unfortunately no longer with us and whom you have chosen to commemorate here today: Nicoletta Golisano, Fabiana de Angelis and Antonio Novati. As you are aware, I personally knew one of these victims very well: Nicoletta. She was a sincere and discreet friend to me, an extraordinary woman and an equally as exceptional mother; a professional with a sense of duty that was out of the ordinary. Nicoletta and I lived in the same building; she lived on the floor above me and we would usually write to each other at around 6.40 in the morning, which was the only ‘quiet’ moment of our day because Nicoletta used to work all the time, just as I do. I miss her a lot, and I carry her smile, her beauty, her sense of duty and dedication to work in my heart. I truly thank you for this act of remembrance, which is also a part of my life. Thank you for dedicating scholarships to her, to Fabiana de Angelis and to Antonio Novati, because certain stories have an immediate impact but then risk being forgotten. I believe, however, that professionals who were just honouring their commitment on a Sunday morning must not be forgotten today. I believe the choice to dedicate these scholarships to them honours their memory, and it is a choice I very much appreciate.
I am sorry that I am unable to be there with you for this year’s general assembly of Italian professional accountants, but I nevertheless wanted to send my contribution, as I always have done and wanted to do this time around too. Since well before this experience of Government, we have considered you and all professionals as special partners. Professions are at the heart of the Government’s actions, in line with what we have always thought and advocated. 
Italy is the nation with the highest number of professionals in Europe, and we want to support and enhance Italy’s social, economic and cultural model. The reason is simple: with their expertise and ethics, professionals put themselves at the service of citizens, they are their allies, they ‘defend’ Italians. Based on my idea of politics, they are an extension of what those who do politics with a ‘capital P’ experience as their own commitment. 
As professional accountants, you are an irreplaceable part of this professional world and you are called upon every day to carry out an increasingly delicate and complex task: to provide specialist assistance and consulting to citizens, families and businesses. As we all know, this increasingly goes well beyond preparing tax returns or financial statements. You work alongside the State and for the State, carrying out the specific functions that have been delegated to you by virtue of the subsidiarity recognised vis-à-vis the Public Administration, to the benefit of the whole community.
You are a point of reference for Italians in their relationship with the tax authorities and you play an irreplaceable role in our nation’s economic and social fabric. Professionals are a resource, an extraordinary added value; a resource for citizens and for institutions. We have based our commitment on this premise over the years, building a relationship of cooperation that has so far yielded excellent results.
I am referring, for example, to the careful and scrupulous work that allowed us to pass the law regarding accidents and illness for professionals during the last legislature, and that led to Parliament’s approval of the fair remuneration law a few weeks ago, which is one of the things I am most proud of. I proposed that law and it has a simple objective: to restore dignity and justice to the many professionals who, for too long, have had unfair economic conditions imposed upon them by so-called ‘strong contracting parties’. I wish to once again thank all the members of parliament and professional associations, including of course your own, that contributed to achieving this goal, because we worked on this collectively. 
You see, we do not think that skills and expertise can be disregarded, especially not the skills and expertise of professionals, not by Italians and not by the institutions. This Government has not disregarded them; it has involved you, professional accountants, in its work to write the tax reform enabling law. Italy has been waiting for this reform for 50 years and we consider it to be fundamental to revive growth and create a completely new relationship between the State and taxpayers, a relationship based on trust, by simplifying obligations and ensuring greater guarantees against a tax system that has too often seemed vexatious.
We are setting ourselves many objectives with this reform: reducing the tax burden; rewarding those who work and produce more with a reduced flat tax on salary increases; supporting those who invest and hire people in Italy based on the principle of “the more you hire, the fewer taxes you pay”, i.e.,  the higher your ratio of labour in relation to turnover, the fewer taxes you owe to the State, because the more employment you create, the more you help the State; and then, writing clear and certain accounting rules to unleash the best our nation has to offer and make Italy more attractive at international level for those who want to invest and produce here. This is certainly an ambitious programme, but, as you know, we are not lacking in determination. We hope to continue with you by our side along this path, as you have been until now. I am referring to the many contributions you have proposed, many of which have been taken on board. I am thinking of notices of inspection no longer being sent in the month of August, and the postponement of payment deadlines that fall during a holiday period, in order to make the relationship between the tax authorities, tax payers and advisers more serene. I would also like to recall the gradual elimination of IRAP [regional tax on production activities] for professional associations, thereby giving a strong impulse to professional groupings. Lastly, I am thinking of the need to ensure that the tax penalty system is more proportional, in order to build a fairer tax system that is able to put above all those who are most struggling in a position to fulfil their payment obligations without unfair charges.
We are only at the beginning of the path to fully and concretely implement the tax reform enabling law. There is a lot of work to do, but I am certain we will be able to count on your valuable contribution. Professionals have all the necessary skills and expertise to help policymakers, supporting them in the definition of often very technical regulations and in the process to simplify bureaucracy, where possible, because this is something else that needs to be done. 
We need this expertise to write a new ‘fiscal pact’ for Italy and usher in a new era in the relationship between the tax system and taxpayers, and therefore between the State and citizens – inspired by mutual trust and a rebalancing of relations. 
It will be an intense challenge, but also an exciting one. A fundamental building block to revitalise this nation.
I like to think that we have been allies until now, as there are many things we have managed to do together for the good of this nation, and I trust that we will continue to be allies also in the future. 
Thank you and I wish you all the best with your work!

[Courtesy translation]