What will happen to the single allowance? There are over 6 million families that receive it today in Italy, for a total of 9,54,9571 children. Everyone is wondering what will happen. A few weeks ago there was talk of a cancellation of the measure to support parents. Then the denial and the confirmation that economic aid to families and the middle class will be a priority in the Budget Law. The fight against the declining birth rate is an emergency. So the single allowance should remain, but with changes. What will change?
The government is evaluating various options: strengthening the single allowance, not counting it in the ISEE calculation at least for large families (so as not to block access to other benefits that have a limit dictated by the ISEE), introducing ad hoc deductions for parents that have been absorbed by the single allowance.
Today, families receive financial support until their children are 21 (there is no age limit if there is a disability) and there are no income requirements. Anyone can apply for it. The amounts change. They range from a minimum of 57 euros per month per child (for ISEE above 45,574.96 euros or no presentation of the indicator) to a maximum of 200 euros (with ISEE below 17 thousand). The government is apparently thinking of changing the contribution, first of all by not making it count towards the calculation of the ISEE, so as not to create limits for accessing other bonuses. There is also the possibility of increasing the aid for large families. But it is difficult to make it heavier without setting income thresholds that would however cancel the universal nature of the allowance.
Another possibility that is being considered is to introduce specific deductions for children. The maximum ceiling for deductions that mostly involve families with at least two children could be raised: school, sports, university expenses, rent for out-of-towners, transportation, domestic help. We could intervene on the change of deductibles, for example now 19% can be deducted for health expenses over 129 euros. Among the hypotheses there is also that of restricting deductions for higher incomes, giving way to deductions for income brackets.
Then there is the Brussels issue. In July, Italy was referred to the EU Court for having included the requirements related to (Italian) residence in the payment of the single allowance. To avoid a European condemnation, the government is also considering the residence requirement to be included in the 2025 Budget.
How will the single allowance and deductions for families change in next year’s Budget Law? The final word will be up to the resources available. The crux is always the same: the blanket is short.
