Press conference at Palazzo Chigi on the economic maneuver. The first draft of the budget law, expected in Parliament next week, consists of 137 articles. All the main measures announced in the press conference after the Council of Ministers have been confirmed, from the cut in the intermediate rate of Irpef (from 35% to 33%) to the new scrapping of tax bills. The upward revision of the tax on Scrooges appears, the spending review for ministries and a package of measures for the family and the contribution for banks and insurance companies.
The endowment of the fund that supports the “Dedicated to you” card for basic food purchases is increased by 500,000,000 euros for each of the years 2026 and 2027.
The threshold for excluding the first home from the ISEE for access to welfare benefits such as the inclusion allowance and support for training and work rises to 91,500 euros (from the current 52,500). The threshold is also “increased by 2,500 euros for each cohabiting child following the first”. Furthermore, the increases foreseen are redetermined based on the number of members of the family unit: 0.1 for families with two children, 0.25 in the case of three children, 0.40 in the case of four children and 0.55 in the case of at least five children. It is currently 0.2 for families with three children, 0.35 for 4 children, 0.5 for at least 5 children
From 2026, the five per thousand ceiling will rise, the share of the Irpef which, upon the indication of taxpayers, the State allocates to third sector bodies. It can be read in a draft of the budget law. The ceiling, which is currently set at 525 million euros, rises to “610 million euros per year starting from the year 2026”.
The new scrapping will allow the amnesty of loads entrusted to collection agents from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 for non-payment of taxes or social security contributions, with the exclusion of tax bills issued following an assessment. It can be paid in a single payment by 31 July of next year, or in 54 equal bimonthly installments: the first installment in July 2026, the last on 31 May 2035. In the case of installment payments, interest of 4% per year will apply.
From 1 January 2026, the monthly amount of pensions for people in disadvantaged conditions will be increased by 20 euros per month and 260 euros per year.
Taxation on short-term rentals rises to 26%, both for private individuals and for those who carry out real estate brokerage activities or manage online portals. The draft budget law provides for this. The law eliminates the reduction – introduced last year – of the flat rate tax rate to 21% for one of the properties: the flat rate tax rate therefore remains at 26%. The rate also increases from 21% to 26% for those who carry out real estate brokerage activities, as well as those who manage online portals.
The maneuver includes a mini sting for smokers. For cigarettes, for example, excise duties go from around 30 euros per 1,000 units to 32 euros for 2026, to 35.50 for 2027 and to 38.50 for 2028. The increases concern both excise duties on manufactured tobacco and the excise tax “on substitute products for smoking products”.
The maneuver establishes a Fund with an endowment of 20 million euros per year starting from 2026 “in order to guarantee housing support to separated or divorced parents who are not assigned a family home with dependent children, until they reach the age of 21”. The criteria and methods for disbursing the funds will then be defined by decree of the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, in agreement with the Minister of Economy and Finance.
Relief is coming for those who hire mothers. The draft of the maneuver provides for a series of benefits starting from 1 January 2026. In particular, private employers who hire women, mothers of at least 3 children under the age of eighteen, without a regularly paid job for at least six months, «are granted exemption from the payment of social security contributions paid by the employer, to the extent of 100%, up to a maximum amount of 8,000 euros per year, re-measured and applied on a monthly basis, with the exclusion of premiums and contributions due to INAIL”. The rate at which pension benefits are calculated remains unchanged.
Furthermore, if the hiring is carried out with a fixed-term employment contract, including temporary employment, the exemption is valid for twelve months from the date of hiring. If the contract is transformed into an indefinite period, the exemption is recognized for a maximum of 18 months from the date of hiring. If the hiring is carried out with a permanent employment contract, the exemption is valid for a period of 24 months from the date of hiring.
Longer parental leave is coming. It is one of the measures contained in the draft of the maneuver, launched by the Government and which is now preparing to be examined by Parliament. Now the parent can abstain from work until the child turns 12 for three months, non-transferable, being able to count on an allowance equal to 30% of the salary. This limit is now raised to 14 years.
Not only that, but now parents, alternatively, have the right to abstain from work, within the limit of five working days per year, for the illnesses of each child between the ages of 3 and 8: the working days per year increase to 10, while the age limit of the child is set at 14 years.
Electronic meal vouchers up to the amount of 10 euros do not count towards income, instead of the previous 8. This can be read in the first draft currently in circulation of the budget law approved by the Council of Ministers.