The Bank of Italy said Monday that the
'citizenship wage' minimum-income benefit had kept around one
million people in Italy out of poverty, according to data for
2020 from social-security agency INPS, as it reported to
parliament on the government's 2023 budget bill.
The budget package features the abolition of the 'citizenship
wage' for people considered fit for work from the end of next
year, with Premier Giorgia Meloni saying it takes away the
incentive for beneficiaries to find a job.
The bill also it limits the number of months the fit-for-work
will be able to claim the benefit to eight months next year.
"The introduction of the citizenship wage was a significant
stage in the modernization of our country's welfare system," the
Bank of Italy's Fabrizio Balassone told a joint session of the
Senate and Lower House's budget committees.
Balassone added, however, that the system has issues regarding
accompanying beneficiaries into the world of work and said that
"the reform announced by the government could strengthen this
aspect".
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