The Government of Italy, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, announced this Monday the approval of the budget project for the next year, which includes a package of tax cuts and spending measures amounting to around 24 billion euros, including increases in public salaries and measures to support the family and working women.
“It is a budget that I consider very serious, very realistic, that does not waste resources, but focuses them on some important priorities,” Meloni defended in the presentation to the press of the Government’s decision in a context of growing concern about consolidation fiscal in the Old Continent in the face of the rate increases of the European Central Bank (ECB).
The Italian Prime Minister has reiterated that her Executive continues to work substantially on the same priorities as this year for 2024, highlighting the need to “defend the purchasing power of families”, for which she has confirmed the decrease for the next year. of the contribution wedge agreed upon last May, of six percentage points for incomes of up to 35,000 euros and seven points for incomes of up to 25,000 euros, which represents an average increase in payroll of about 100 euros per month and benefits to some 14 million citizens.
In this sense, Meloni has announced the merger of the two lowest sections of the tax scale, so that up to 28,000 euros of income a 23% tax will be applied.
Likewise, the Government contemplates an allocation of 7,000 million euros aimed at raising public sector salaries, including around 2,000 million euros for health workers and another 5,000 million for the rest of the sectors.
“I believe that we cannot accept a reality in which a police officer earns little more than 6 euros per hour for overtime, that is, less than what a domestic worker earns, and I believe that we must intervene in this regard,” he indicated.
On the other hand, Meloni has announced a series of measures aimed at families, especially working mothers, highlighting the five months of parental leave paid at 100%, as well as the increase in the endowment of the fund for daycare centers with the aim of that daycare is free for the second child and that mothers with two or more children do not pay the social contributions paid by the worker, but rather the State assumes it.
“A woman who gives birth to at least two children in a reality in which we desperately need to reverse demographic data has already offered an important contribution to society and that is why the State, let’s say, tries to compensate by paying social security contributions” said the Italian leader.
According to the latest forecasts from the Italian Government, the budget deficit will increase next year to 4.3% of GDP, due in part to the €15.7 billion of additional debt planned to pay for the tax cuts.