The menu of the maneuver could lose the hypothesis of a cut in Irpef for the middle class, the reduction of the rate from 43 to 33% foreseen on the bracket of 50 thousand to 60 thousand euros of income. The idea would instead be to use the limited resources of the budget to direct them towards interventions to help the elderly and frail on the healthcare front, as well as to support the salaries of young people. These are the indications that, according to the newspapers Il Sole 24 Ore and La Repubblica, emerged in a majority discussion held at the Ministry of Economy in view of finalizing the maneuver.
The frozen dossier and the bonus for the fragile
On the Irpef cut, Il Sole 24 Ore writes, «the dossier is not closed, because a majority and the Government will continue to push to keep it in progress. But at the moment it appears frozen: because the coverage is not there, unless we give up alternative ideas such as that of the bonus for the vulnerable, a paper released yesterday at the meeting to intercept a wider audience, and concentrated once again on the lowest income groups”.
For them, the newspaper continues, «the technicians are studying a way to put into practice at least partially the desire to advance Irpef deductions for healthcare expenses, which only take effect the following year, with the declaration, and only for those who are not incompetent. Anticipating them for everyone is impossible for cash reasons: therefore we are working on a lump sum bonus, the value of which will depend on the income threshold of the beneficiaries. First of all, the costs for services incurred outside the national health system would come into play, starting with dental ones.”
On the employment front, again according to Il Sole 24 Ore, «help for salaries could then be offered by the replication of the tax relief on contractual increases. The tax discount on thirteenth wages, however, has been postponed to better times: it could be discussed again at the end of 2027, accounts and political will permitting (there are also elections in the middle).
Reduced audience and flat tax for VAT numbers
Repubblica also writes that “the margins are very tight” for the Irpef cut which, however, the newspaper recalls, “prime minister Giorgia Meloni has indicated several times as the priority objective of her fifth budget”. «The question that now fuels doubts is equally political – the article claims – It concerns the effectiveness of the measure. The fears are linked to the number of beneficiaries of the tax reduction. The simulations speak of around 3 million taxpayers, an audience considered ‘contained’ compared to the much broader needs of voting.”
In this context, in addition to the elderly, frail and young, we are also thinking about extending the flat tax for VAT numbers. «It is better to concentrate – argues the article in La Repubblica – on something more usable at the polls. It is around this reasoning that the possibility of raising the flat tax threshold for VAT numbers emerges. After having raised it from 65 thousand to 85 thousand euros, the aim is now to place the bar around 100 thousand euros. In this sense, the executive intends to relaunch the negotiations with Brussels given that for enlargement it would be necessary to intervene at the same time on the VAT legislation”.
Leo and Tajani: «No decision made»
From the government, however, comes a brake on the indiscretions. “No decisions have been made, we are working.” This was said by the Deputy Minister of Economy, Maurizio Leo, speaking to reporters in Transatlantico, when asked about the rumors about a possible stop to the measure expected in the maneuver for the extension of the Irpef rate to 33% for incomes up to 60,000 euros.
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani is on the same line. Has the further cut in IRPEF ended? “Absolutely not, let’s move on,” he replied to reporters’ questions. “Interventions can be made for young people, we can also try to extend the provision on car tax exemption to all first cars,” explained the FI leader. What could be the practicable path regarding bills? “It depends on the dialogue with Europe.”
Landini: «We need an overall tax reform»
The general secretary of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini, in the square in Montecitorio alongside the UDU students, is critical. «We think that there is a need for an overall tax reform because even the Irpef cut, if it does not introduce the mechanism for repaying the fiscal drain, actually shifts money on which I pay more taxes», he said, relaunching the issue of the fiscal drain and also of the flat tax, which he considers «a mockery. We must cancel all the flat taxes introduced, because it is not possible that the only ones who pay taxes progressively are employees and pensioners”.
«There is a need for serious tax reform and a serious fight against tax evasion: it is the time not to make small talk, but to take concrete actions that provide answers to people’s needs. People can no longer make it to the end of the month”, states Landini, underlining that he has been supporting the restitution of the fiscal drain for some time: “We asked for it a year ago, we asked for it from the Draghi government, from the Conte government. No one has ever done it so far. The resources were spent on electoral hustlers or other operations.”
The leader of the CGIL also insists on the fight against tax evasion: «In the era of artificial intelligence I find it difficult to continue to say that there is 110 billion in tax evasion. I know at this moment that I am being radical: we should say that with liquid money you can no longer pay for anything. Because everything can be traced and if you trace everything you also avoid tax evasion and illegal work.” «Here I say enough – insists Landini on the flat tax –, we are bored, and I say this on behalf of all those who honestly pay taxes and know that taxes serve to keep up a social system that today risks collapsing, from school to healthcare, to housing, to work. So this battle that young people are waging is a very strong battle without which there is no future. And today being on the side of the students does not mean being on a political side, but being on the side of those who are claiming to have a future and to have a country founded not on weapons, but on social justice.”
The debate on the DPFP in the Senate
The topic also entered the Senate debate on the DPFP. The senator and group leader of Forza Italia in the Budget Committee, Dario Damiani, speaking in the explanation of vote, relaunched the objective: «In such a complex geopolitical and economic scenario, even independent bodies have highlighted the difficulty of making forecasts. Despite this ‘perfect storm’, we have governed this phase with responsibility, keeping accounts in order and without unloading the burden with further debts on future generations. Our priority is the middle class, the backbone of the country: I think of the workers, the teachers, the nurses, the families who today face growing difficulties.”
«We have made the cut in the tax wedge structural, revised the Irpef rates and contributed to strengthening Italy’s international credibility, with record levels of employment and recognition from rating agencies. Now we want to continue on this path: extend the Irpef rate of 33% from 50 to 60 thousand euros of income and introduce a no tax area for those under 30. We will continue to support businesses, investing in competitiveness, simplification and internationalisation. Thanks also to the work of Minister Tajani on exports, we aim to reach around 700 billion euros in exports. With the next maneuver we will have to make a further effort, also looking at pensioners and carrying forward Forza Italia’s battle to increase minimum pensions, in line with President Berlusconi’s commitment. Because supporting those who have worked a lifetime also means protecting the middle class and the social stability of the country.”
The Fratelli d’Italia senator Guido Liris, group leader in the Budget Committee at Palazzo Madama, calls for prudence in the accounts: «The public finance document is a precious document and represents a fundamental step before the Budget law. What has distinguished the Meloni government is its prudence in its accounts and our GDP growth estimates have proven to be far too careful. The goals achieved by our executive are evident: over 24 million are employed with a rate of 63%, with a decisive reduction in the deficit.”
«When Giorgia Meloni took office in Palazzo Chigi we had a deficit/GDP of 8%. Today it is at 2.9%. 5 points of improvement. The data on the primary surplus is excellent, an element of ethics and morality of a State: with us the State does not spend more than it collects. This is the result of our ability to plan resources. Prudence is a substantial element of the capacity of a State, it is not a lack of courage but the capacity of a government that thinks about the present without compromising the future. With us not only quantity in shopping, but also quality. And in a complex international context we intervened with a deviation to support families and businesses, keeping public accounts in order and completing structural measures and not spot actions. Measures such as cutting the tax wedge and Irpef to put more money in the pockets of Italians”, he explained.