Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni adopted a ‘realistic’ €24 billion budget bill at a press conference on Tuesday, as bloc countries prepare for a world where EU deficit rules, put aside since the pandemic, will likely come back to haunt them. Read more.
Two-thirds of the budget, or €16 billion, will be covered by extra deficit spending, while only one-third, approximately €8 billion, will come from spending cuts.
With the EU’s 3% deficit rule set to come back into effect and with Stability Pact reform still at a standstill, Italy exposes itself to the risk of an infringement procedure.
On taxation, labour and pensions, the announced budget bill foresees financing the tax wedge cut with a €10 billion lever and allowing self-employed workers with a turnover of up to €170,000 to pay off taxes in January rather than in November.
The budget also includes measures to encourage companies to hire mothers and young professionals. Companies returning from abroad to invest in Italy will also receive a 50% reduction in income tax for five years.
At the same time, the government decided to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 63, although the number of years of work required will remain at 41, except for men who are carers, unemployed, disabled or heavy workers, for whom only 36 years of work will be required, or women, for whom it is 35 years.
Another important part of the budget is state support for families.
In its budget, the government has decided to allocate €1 billion to large families while reconfirming the daycare bonus.
Meloni told a press conference that the state will contribute to working mothers for one year if they have two children and permanently for mothers with three (until the last child reaches the age of majority).
However, the so-called ‘super bonus’, which could be claimed for modernising buildings by reducing seismic risk to installing photovoltaic systems, was adopted under the Conte government in 2020 and has since come under considerable criticism, particularly from members of the current government, has been scrapped.
Meanwhile, about €5 billion will be allocated to renew public administration contracts.
As for healthcare, an additional €3 billion will be provided on top of the initial €133 billion. While €2 billion of the three will go onwards hiring new doctors, the remainder will be used to reduce waiting lists.
More controversially, the new budget includes a measure that imposes an annual contribution of €2,000 for non-EU foreigners residing in Italy who wish to use the national healthcare system.
The new budget also addresses the Stretto bridge project in Messina, which has been discussed for decades and is now set to link the southern regions of Sicily and Calabria, even though the budget needs to cite how much such an endeavour will cost.
Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, who assured the presence of “financial coverage,” did not provide numbers.
(Mariano Sisto | Euractiv.it)
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