The increase in the coupon rate to 26% had not been agreed upon. He would have entered into the maneuver on the initiative of the Treasury but now he may not have the votes in the Chamber. The opposition announces barricades over cuts to cinema funding
The economic maneuver always reserves surprises even after its approval in the Council of Ministers. However, the one on the house is probably a cold shower that the owners were not expecting. As soon as the news came out, Forza Italia and the League immediately distanced themselves in a polemical way, suggesting that it was not an operation agreed upon within the majority. The initiative would be from the Treasury to harmonize tax collection and contain the rush for tourist rentals in large cities. But considering the criticisms that immediately arrived from the majority, the law certainly will not pass parliamentary scrutiny unscathed. The discussion of the budget law begins this week in the Senate (this year the Chamber will limit itself to approval at second reading) in order to reach the finishing line of publication by December 31st and enter into force on January 1st.
In the 137 articles, in addition to confirmations such as scrapping, the cut of the second rate of Irpef and the contribution from banks and insurance companies, the increase in taxation from 21% to 26% on short-term rentals (those lasting no more than 30 days) of a single property emerged.
Currently the 26% rate applies only from the second property onwards.
The Mef’s 2023 tax returns say that the income deriving from short-term rental contracts (around 30,000) generated a taxable income of 438 million euros.
“The increase in flat rate tax is not a good way to help internal demand and private initiative”, attacked the deputy prime minister and minister of transport, Matteo Salvini. Along the same lines, Forza Italia. “It’s a profoundly wrong choice,” said the Italian spokesperson, Raffaele Nevi underlining that the party “had not been informed and is totally against it”. Moreover, he points out Nevicomes as the levy on so-called stablecoins is lowered from 33% to 26%: “It doesn’t seem fair to us to equate the house with cryptocurrency trading.” The measure therefore risks turning into a political case.
Confconstruction is on a war footing: “If the government wants to favor long-term rentals over short-term ones, the right path is not to punish the latter, but rather to incentivize the former”, it said Giorgio Spaziani Testapresident of the association.
The risk is of an increase in illegal rents, or an increase in rents which will also influence long-term contracts. The bullish trend is already underway. In Rome, according to an analysis by Aspesi together with Intesa SanPaolo, between July and September 2025 the cost of rentals rose by 11.2%.
Even if Forza Italia and Lega agree on the tax treatment of holiday homes, they remain divided on the “extra tax” for banks and insurance companies. Salvini yesterday he used threatening tones: “If the banks complain it won’t be 5 but 6 or 7”, in reference to the billions in contributions they should make. “Everyone can cry except the Italian banks,” he said, “and it seems right to me that they make a small contribution to help consumers, with the approximately 50 billion in profit they record.”
Another novelty that emerges from the draft of the maneuver is the cut to the cinema fund of 190 million for 2026 (by 30%) and of 240 million for 2027 (by 35%). The Democratic Party has already raised the barricades and promises battle in Parliament.
The chapter on the exclusion of the first house from the ISEE calculation is still open. The maximum cadastral value of the property has not been defined. Also confirmed for 2026 are the three months of optional parental leave compensated at 80% until the child turns six months old. The remaining months remain indemnified at 30%. The mothers’ bonus has been strengthened: it goes from 40 to 60 euros per month (from 480 to 720 euros per year) but with an income of less than 40,000 euros per year. The amount of the financial contribution for separated parents who have difficulties with their home is to be defined.
The maneuver also includes the expansion of the exemption of meal vouchers from 8 to 10 euros, with an advantage for workers’ pockets of 400 to 500 euros per year.
For bars and restaurants there is an exemption from the liberalization of dehors until 30 June 2027. Next year, however, the government will have to adopt a reorganization of the concessions of public areas.
News at petrol stations. To overcome a subsidy considered environmentally harmful by Europe, from January 1st the government will reduce the excise duty on petrol by 4.05 cents per liter and increase the excise duty on diesel by the same amount. The two rates are aligned at the same level, i.e. 672.90 euros per 1,000 litres. For a medium-sized car with a tank of around 50 litres, it equates to a saving of 2.47 euros for a full tank of petrol and an increase of 2.47 euros for a full tank of diesel.
The measure increases taxes on cigarettes. Smokers will have to spend around 6 cents more per pack from January, which will become 15 cents in 2027 and 22 cents from 2028. For an average smoker (one pack a day) the additional cost will be around 22 euros. Increases also for shredded tobacco, with approximately 79 cents more for each 30 gram sachet (which will become 93 cents in 2027 and over one euro from 2028). Inhalation tobaccos cost about 70 cents per pack of 20 sticks. For e-cigarette liquids this is an increase of approximately 1.50 for liquids with nicotine and 1 euro without nicotine.
