The budget law for 2026 was approved by the Council of Ministers. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the ministers then communicated some of the main measures during a press conference. “It is a serious maneuver that is worth 18.7 billion euros and focuses on the same great priorities as the previous ones: family and birth rate, tax reduction, support for businesses, healthcare” announced the prime minister, who thanked the majority for “common sense and compactness”.
Work
Meloni announced that the bonus for working mothers will be increased “from 40 to 60 euros per month”. Regarding new hires “a super deduction of 120% of the cost of labor has been introduced, which rises up to 130% for some more fragile individuals”. While on poor work, the aim is to stimulate “contractual renewals for incomes up to 28,000 euros” and “on the increase part” it is expected that “the 5% rate will apply for both 2026 and 2025 renewals”.
Irpef and wages
«We know that in Italy there is a problem linked to wages, which cannot be solved overnight. In the ten years before our government, the purchasing power of Italian wages decreased by more than 2% while in the rest of Europe it grew by 2.5%. The good news is that this trend has now reversed” said Meloni. And in the budget law, he specified: «We have tried to add another piece by focusing on the increase in contracts, as well as on the issue of additional wages». On taxation, the Prime Minister explained: «We are intervening on Irpef, we are focusing on the middle class» with a measure that weighs «around 2.8 billion euros», we put «1.9 billion on salaries with tax relief on productivity bonuses and weekend and night shifts». The Minister of Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti then revealed that the sterilization of the Irpef cut “will be above 200,000 euros, those who earn between 50 and 200,000 euros will benefit from the reduction in the rate”.
Businesses
There is talk of “around 8 billion in investments” for businesses, explained Meloni, adding that the budget law includes “super and hyper depreciation with permitted investments of 4 billion euros”.
Pensions
Giorgetti declared that for the increase in the pension age, «sterilization is confirmed with an extra month from 2027 and another 2 from 2028». Regarding minimum pensions, he pointed out: “We have foreseen an increase of 20 euros per month.”
Healthcare
On the subject of healthcare, Meloni declared that “2.4 billion euros” will be allocated “for 2026”. The aim is to “strengthen the healthcare sector in general, in particular to hire around 6,300 nurses and a further thousand doctors, and to increase the salaries of nurses, with an estimated increase in 2026 of 1,630, for doctors of around 3,000 euros, and also of the healthcare staff of the sector”.
Family and home
“About 1.6 billion euros more” will be dedicated to the family, the prime minister announced. In addition to excluding “the first house with the cadastral value limit from the ISEE calculation”. He then reiterated: “We have always said that the first house is sacred and in some way we try to apply this principle.”
Covers
In the coverage of the Maneuver “there is an important contribution from the banking and insurance institutions that I want to thank” continued Meloni, also maintaining: “For the credit system I don’t fear a backlash: we spoke with these people, my intent is not punitive”. He then clarified, speaking on the banking and insurance system, that “there is no taxation on extra profits”. He also explained that “the bulk of the coverage” derives “from cuts in spending by the Prime Minister and the Ministries”.
Banking and insurance system
Speaking on the matter, Giorgetti underlined: «The banks and insurance companies accept, certainly not in a good mood, reluctantly. We believe the overall impact is absolutely acceptable. We have a solid and very profitable banking system.” Therefore the contribution paid by the banks “is a mix of measures” of both a “structural” and “cyclical nature” and includes the “possibility of releasing the capital reserves” with the 2023 law. He then specified that for the capital tax the banks will make “their assessments based on this year’s results which, however, seem to me to be fine”.
Scrapping
«The scrapping lasted 9 years with bimonthly installments of the same amount open to all those who declared and did not pay, it is not an amnesty for those who were clever” claimed the minister. And he specified: “We discussed a minimum installment of 100 euros but at the moment we have decided against it.”
Defense spending
Meloni stated that «defense spending does not weigh on other spending items. The 0.15 increase is covered with additional resources compared to this budget law.”
