Premier Mario Draghi was set to
present the government's 2022 budget plan Thursday night set to
contain 30 billion euros of measures including eight billion for
tax cuts as well as more health spending and a new transitional
early retirement scheme, the product of a compromise between the
ruling parties.
Some 23.4 billion euros of the package are deficit spending,
according to a draft of the plan.
The draft contained 185 articles spanning the fund for cutting
taxes and new funding for social benefits.
Among the moves: the postponement of a sugar and plastic tax,
new extended paternal leave, the renewal of construction
bonuses, more health funding and more funding for the 20225
Jubilee.
The most contested issues had been the pension scheme, a
'superbonus' extended to 2023 for single-family houses with a
ceiling of 25,000 euros on means testing, and a clampdown on the
basic income with its suspension after refusing two job offers.
The package also includes a new extraordinary fund to support
publishing and media, to the tune of 90 million euros in 2022
and 140 million the year after, and the passage of journalists
pension fund INPG to national pensions agency INPS from July
2022.
Lay-off funds for former national carrier Alitalia are extended
till 2023, while tickets will be reimbursed until 2022.
The budget plan draft also includes two billion to offset energy
bill rises for the first three months of next year; one billion
euros for the culture sector; and a bonus to help buy home
appliances.
Nursery school teachers are included in the 'heavy' work
category qualifying for earlier retirement benefits.
Draghi's cabinet is set to approve the 2022 budget bill on
Thursday after an agreement on pension reform was reached at a
meeting of representatives of the parties supporting the
executive on Wednesday.
Draghi had said that, after three years, the 'quota 100' pension
system allowing for early retirement if the sum of age and years
worked reached 100 would be scrapped on the grounds that it is
too costly for the State.
But Italy's trade unions and Matteo Salvini's League, which
championed the quota 100 when it was passed by a past
government, were unhappy about this.
On Wednesday a compromise was agreed that will see the 'quota
100' system replaced in 2022 by one which will require this sum
of age and years of contributions to equal at least 102.
The compromise leaves what will happen after 2022 open. Draghi
reportedly wanted bring in a 'quota 102' or 'quota 104' system
as a temporary stepping stone to a system in which everyone
would have to reach the full retirement age of over 67 to start
claiming a State pension.
Draghi has also decided to definitively scrap the 'cashback'
system in which consumers could get up 150 euros from the State
every six months by using cards to make purchases.
The system, which sought to fight tax evasion by encouraging
people to use payment methods that can be traced and was passed
by the previous government of 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader
Giuseppe Conte, was suspended at the start of the year.
"Now we must work to make our country even more fair and
cohesive," said Draghi.
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