30/10/2026 13:27
Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for being here. I can see there is a high turn-out for a big occasion.
The Council of Ministers just approved the 2027 budget law. This is this Government’s fifth budget law and is worth a total of approximately EUR 26 billion.
Before going into the details of the main measures, I would first like to say that the guiding philosophy of this budget law is once again to focus the resources available (which aren’t many) on the same priorities we have been pursuing over the last four years: families, the birth rate, cutting taxes, protecting purchasing power, employment incentives, business incentives and citizens’ health.
This budget law should therefore not be seen as a standalone measure, but rather as a further building block of a medium-long term strategy that follows the logic of a full term – so, a multi-year path. This strategy is clearly in line with the programme we presented to the Italian people. I must say that I am very satisfied with the consistency, unity and steadfastness we have shown throughout this journey.
Once again, we have not distributed resources indiscriminately and have not made any promises we cannot keep. I must thank all the Ministers for our teamwork on this. Once again, the approval of the budget law went extremely smoothly today. Primarily, of course, I must thank my two Deputy Premiers, Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini, as well as Minister [of Economy and Finance] Giorgetti and Deputy Minister [of Economy and Finance] Leo, who are clearly the ones who carry the most responsibility for balancing the many requests, the many expectations and the needs involved. However, we really have worked with great peace of mind, common sense and unity, looking solely at what was best for citizens.
Moving on, I would also like to tell you that, with this budget law, we are confirming all the measures included in the previous budget law that would otherwise have expired at the end of this year. So, a set of measures that is alone worth around EUR 9 billion, including: the tax credit for investments in the Single SEZ [Single Economic Zone] for the Mezzogiorno; the 1% tax rate on productivity bonuses; the bonus for working mothers; the 120% super-deduction on labour costs, so the famous ‘the more you hire, the less you pay’. Measures for fisheries and agriculture: the abolition of IRPEF [personal income tax] for farmers; duty reductions on agricultural diesel – this measure alone is worth around EUR 1 billion; the allocation under ‘Agriculture 4.0’; there is also the wage replacement allowance for fishermen. We are confirming the lower tax rate of 5% on increases arising from the renewal of national collective bargaining agreements, which rewards collective bargaining and was strongly requested by trade unions and, of course, by social partners. In recent years, this measure has provided an incentive for the renewal of national agreements for more than 4.25 million workers, so about half a million more than initial estimates. This is a clear sign that this measure works and is effective. We have decided to extend it because you know how much we care about the issue of wage increases.
So, with this budget law, we are not taking anything away from what we have done so far and are introducing new measures, which are in addition to the previous ones. What are these measures?
Let’s start with IRPEF [personal income tax]. As you know, in previous budget laws, we made the tax wedge cut structural for medium-low incomes, merged two IRPEF tax brackets and lowered the rate for the EUR 28,000–EUR 50,000 bracket down to 33%. With these measures, the Government chose to have the State forego a total of approximately EUR 21 billion – under previous Governments, the State collected that amount but now it stays in citizens’ pockets. With this budget law, we are taking a further step forward. We are raising the upper threshold for the second IRPEF bracket – the one with a 33% rate – up to EUR 55,000, which will mean a benefit of up to around EUR 500 per year. Some may clearly say that still isn’t much – if we could have, we would have done even more. However, also in this regard, I’ll say it again: this measure needs to be interpreted together with our previous ones. To be clear: when we entered office, those who earned EUR 55,000 paid EUR 16,550 per year in IRPEF, net of possible deductions for employment income or pension contributions; today, they pay around EUR 15,350 per year. This corresponds to a net benefit of EUR 1,200 per year, so a monthly benefit of EUR 100 – of course net of any tax relief on productivity bonuses, which alone can be worth over EUR 1,000 per year; the fringe benefit measure, which alone can also be worth another EUR 1,000 per year; the exclusion of the main place of residence from the calculation of the ‘ISEE’ [‘Equivalent Economic Situation Indicator’] up to a given threshold; the increase to the ‘assegno unico’ [‘single allowance’] for children; and all the other measures, as you know.
Continuing on the topic of IRPEF, we are also taking action on the ‘flat-rate’ tax scheme for self-employed workers which, as you know, is another measure that is very important to us. This was one of our first measures. We are raising the upper threshold for access to this tax scheme from EUR 85,000 to EUR 100,000. With regard to the VAT-exempt scheme, we have a year to negotiate this with the European Commission, because we need their authorisation for that one.
We are making the vehicle tax measure structural in nature, in accordance with what we approved in one of the last Council of Ministers meetings. That means no vehicle tax on small and medium-powered cars of up to 80 kilowatts or on motorbikes – as we have already said, we’re talking about approximately 70% of the vehicles in circulation. Many tried to downplay this measure, claiming it was an election handout, also because it was only valid for 2027 – they will be proven wrong, as they’ll find in writing what we have already made very clear: this is a structural and permanent measure, at least while the centre-right is in power, because we have discovered that the centre-left likes the vehicle tax, so we can’t speak for the others.
Remaining on the topic of cars – on what might be described as quite a colourful note – we are introducing the possibility to have customised number plates for those who want them. In other words, you’ll be able to do more or less as you please, obviously at a cost – something tells me that Italians’ creativity may really come to the fore here.
We have dedicated a specific budget item to young people in this budget law. We have seen many youngsters taking to the streets over the past few weeks. We have also seen unacceptable scenes of violence and devastation. I want to be clear: we are not providing responses for those who smash shop windows; we want to provide responses for the many young people who want to show their talents, who want to study, who want to work and who want to be able to rent a home, in a nation that, in practice, has too often forgotten about them, except for perhaps exploiting them for political purposes when needed. There is therefore a set of measures for them.
First: wages. We are introducing an incentive for young workers under the age of 30: EUR 2,500 taxed at 1%, which can be received either as 12 monthly instalments or as a one-off payment. We want a young person who starts a job in Italy to feel like this nation is spurring them on, and we want to do all we can so that young Italians do not think they have to pack their bags and leave this nation if they want to build a future for themselves.
Second: homes. As you know, rent rises are a problem throughout Europe. From Paris to Amsterdam, it has become very difficult to find a home at an affordable price, especially for young people and especially for those who work in big cities. Italy is no exception, which is why we have established the ‘Piano Casa’ housing plan. As you know, this plan aims to make 100,000 homes available over the next ten years, including both social housing and subsidised housing. However, this Plan needs time, as it is designed over a ten-year period, and solutions are needed here now. The measure included in this budget law provides for a reduction in the flat-rate tax on agreed-rate rentals from 10% down to 5%, but for those who have an agreed-rate rental in place with a young person under the age of 35, the flat-rate tax will be 1%. This means it is in the owner’s interest to let their property at a capped rent, and it is particularly advantageous to let it at a capped rent to a young person rather than letting it at the normal market price or, as we often see, leaving it empty and unused, or renting it out without declaring it. This means more houses on the market, lower rents and more young people who can leave home and build a life for themselves.
For the first time, we are extending the flat-rate tax to commercial properties too: for shops, boutiques, local neighbourhood stores, which are very valuable to us. You know better than I do that rent is often the highest cost item. Helping the landlords of these properties too means helping to keep the shutters up and our historical town centres and neighbourhoods alive.
Third, going back to young people: we have decided to use part of the resources from the National Escape Clause (‘NEC’) – the part relating to energy – to provide all schools in Italy with air conditioning and heat pumps, to make our classrooms more liveable. As you know, this request has been put forward by families, teachers and young people. Objectively speaking, this is a matter of being civilised: no one should have to study in the cold or in temperatures of 35 degrees in June. If, in the past, rather than spending money on such ‘useful’ desks on wheels, they had dealt with this instead, today we would be better off.
We are also using NEC-Energy resources to fund energy efficiency in universities and hospitals. These measures will take immediate effect, so from 2027, which, however, is also the year in which we have to issue the calls for tender, so the resources will be paid out starting from 2028.
Families and the birth rate are another focus point that always feature in our budget laws. For us, they have always been a concrete priority, as we have demonstrated over these years: we have incorporated this priority into very many of our choices, starting with parental leave. When we entered office, parental leave was paid at 30% of the person’s salary; over these years, we have increased the number of months paid at 80% up to three. This year, we are adding another month for everyone, and we are doing even more. In the case of a second child, the months paid at 80% increase by two, so for a total of up to five months; from the third child, this becomes six months. So, with this budget law, those who have three or more children will get six months parental leave paid at 80%.
For self-employed workers who do not take parental leave, we are introducing a voucher of up to EUR 500 for a maximum of three months.
We are also providing a measure dedicated to newborns. This is a measure both Minister Giorgetti and I particularly like. For each child born, INPS [National Social Security Institute] will open a social security account – like a small piggy bank – which the State will initially pay EUR 100 into as a welcome. However, parents and relatives will then be able to continue paying into it – let’s call it a piggy bank – in the following years to build that account up. The balance of this ‘piggy bank’ will be tax-free, exempt from seizure and cannot be used until the newborn turns 18, unless there is an exceptional emergency (and, in that case, the authorisation of a guardianship judge would be required). Upon turning 18, the young person in question can claim the money and use it to enrol at university, to start a business or perhaps as a fund to keep paying into as a kind of future supplementary pension scheme.
So, the more children you have, the more the State will be present. In this regard, we have endeavoured to provide responses once again this year.
The South of Italy: we have confirmed the single SEZ for the South and are increasing it – the allocation is going up to EUR 2.4 billion. As you know, this measure is producing excellent results and we want to continue strengthening it.
Energy and businesses: we have worked hard on this. We are confirming the Energy Release scheme for energy-intensive businesses; we are introducing a new Energy Release scheme specifically for small and medium-sized companies and providing it with EUR 1 billion in funding. This measure can significantly reduce energy costs for these companies – so, clearly: more sustainable energy prices for those who keep our productive fabric going.
Then, health: as was the case in all the previous ones, this budget law also allocates significant resources to increase the national healthcare fund. We are increasing this fund by EUR 3.4 billion, taking it to EUR 146.3 billion in 2027, meaning another new record. Part of this increase has to be used to boost the salaries of emergency room doctors, who are on the frontline – where citizens assess the performance of the national health service on a daily basis.
That is not all – there is another measure we also care a great deal about. With this budget law, we are introducing a ‘social voucher’ worth EUR 300 for Italians over the age of 75 with a pension of up to EUR 28,000 per year. We are talking about 5.5 million people. The total cost of this measure amounts to EUR 1.6 billion. This voucher can be used for healthcare expenses that are not covered by the national health service, for medicines and for specialist consultations. It therefore provides tangible help, as well as telling millions of elderly people that they are not alone. These are clearly also resources for healthcare. So, with the EUR 3.4 billion we are putting into the national healthcare fund and the EUR 1.6 billion this measure is costing, we are talking about EUR 5 billion in this budget law for citizens’ health.
Lastly, with regard to pensions, there is a fund worth EUR 850 million which we are using to boost flexibility mechanisms for those retiring under the contributions-based scheme. We need to work on the details of this and we will be doing so above all during the respective parliamentary debate.
Coverage: part of the resources will of course come from the greater flexibility granted under the two National Escape Clauses – especially the one regarding energy – and as part of the negotiations with the European Union.
Approximately EUR 5 billion, and more, will come from: the contribution requested from the financial sector (so, banks and insurance companies), with an exemption of EUR 90,000, which minimises or even eliminates the impact on co-operative or mutual banks – the ones closest to citizens in terms of their credit needs; and the increase in the tax on financial transactions – the so-called ‘Tobin Tax’. As you know, there was no scope this year to reach a prior agreement with the financial sector, but I nevertheless wish to thank this industry. I believe banks and insurance companies understand the situation we find ourselves in very well and ultimately share the aim of giving a helping hand, especially to those in the greatest difficulty. We have also asked for an additional contribution from energy companies. This is worth around EUR 700 million and is in addition to the contribution we have already asked for over the last months, for example to fund the ‘decree on energy bills’. Another EUR 700 million is coming from the gambling industry.
This budget law is not against anyone; it is simply a complex time, and those with fewer problems are being asked to help out, clearly within the limits of what is sustainable. As the State, we are setting a good example, as another part of the resources needed is coming from cuts to Ministries’ spending, worth a total of around EUR 1 billion.
In broad terms, this is the work we have done, and clearly the Deputy Premiers and Minister Giorgetti will be able to provide more details.
This is not a budget law that will resolve everything and nor does it claim to, but it certainly has a clear direction, as this Government has always had: jobs, families, young people, housing, the South, healthcare, lower energy prices. This is the same direction we have been heading in since the very start of our term and which has enabled us, yes, to receive the appreciation of international investors, which can also be important, but above all to count on the trust of Italian savers. This is something that makes us very proud. Over these last years, the amount of government securities held by Italian households has grown by EUR 220 billion and I think that this figure, more than any other, demonstrates the trust citizens place in this Government’s professionalism, responsibility and competence.
There is clearly still a great deal to do – we are the first to be aware of that – but we intend to push ahead with the same determination we have had since day one. I shall stop here and thank you, and I’ll pass the floor to Deputy Premier Tajani, then to Deputy Premier Salvini and then to Minister Giorgetti.
[Courtesy translation]
Lingua
Inglese
Tipologia Pagina: InterventoImmagine in Evidenza: Codice video Youtube: R-snC80A_ZUTipologia intervento: Intervento
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Sottotitoli in inglese: Italiano