Zero income tax for young people, pensions: Occhiuto & Co.’s moves to revive Berlusconi’s ideas

He is postponing (at least for now; there is no certainty about tomorrow) his bid for the party leadership, as, according to Occhiuto, “I am not the anti-Tajani but his deputy”. However, to ensure that his recent stances, the revival of liberal culture and the programmes to be implemented do not remain a dead letter, a change of pace is called for. Not just him, the President of Calabria, of course. But the so-called “axis of renewal”, which also includes, in various capacities, the Minister for Public Administration Paolo Zangrillo, the Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Giorgio Mulè, the Deputy Speaker of the Senate Licia Ronzulli, and MPs close to the Berlusconi family – all of whom attended the launch of the governor’s new book at the Galleria Sordi in Rome. For this reason, what might be called a school of thought – the ‘Cologno faction’ – is working on a series of proposals to be included in the forthcoming Budget Bill, which, according to Meloni (as she reiterated yesterday at an event organised by Il Gazzettino in Venice), will focus on ‘wages and the defence of purchasing power’. Provided, of course – and this is a word of warning to readers – that the electoral law debate (general discussion began yesterday in the Chamber of Deputies, and today there will be the first secret ballot on the preliminary constitutionality motions) does not get out of hand and the Budget Bill is not derailed by the political situation. One of the first to make a move, in terms of proposals, was Mulè, who, in an interview with Il Foglio, had put forward a measure inspired by what Silvio Berlusconi had done in the past. “The measure introduced by ‘Il Cav.’ in 2001, as part of the Budget Bill, to increase minimum pensions through the ‘social top-up’ scheme, must be revived and relaunched.” The INPS has already done the maths: to raise pensions to 800 euros net for over 1.1 million pensioners on the minimum income, 450 million would be needed. I believe we can aim to reach one billion, bringing the figure up to almost 850 euros net per month,” said the Forza Italia representative. This is a way of setting themselves apart within the ruling coalition, with the League having already attempted to “secure” retirement at 64 with 25 years’ contributions on the pensions front. While initiatives for the older segment of the population are taking shape, in recent hours there have also been attempts to appeal to the younger demographic. Occhiuto himself has been discussing a ‘no-tax zone’ for the under-35s, both on television and on his social media profiles. According to Il Foglio, the proposal is taking shape with a couple of options currently being worked on by Forza Italia MPs closest to the President of Calabria. On the one hand, there would be a three-year exemption from personal income tax (Irpef) for young people aged between 24 and 30 who have recently been hired, with an income limit of up to 50,000 euros per year. On the other, a ‘smart youth tax’ that would exempt the first 20,000 euros of income from personal income tax for all employees aged between 18 and 34. There is also a phased reduction in the tax allowance, which starts at 100 per cent at the age of 18 and drops to 20 per cent upon reaching the age of 35, before gradually phasing out by the age of 39. This second measure could potentially benefit over 6 million employees under the age of 35. However, the funding requirements are still being estimated, although given the size of the group that could benefit, it is likely to amount to several hundred million euros. In the background, there remains the extension of the flat tax, which would be introduced incrementally, and a measure also advocated by Tajani, such as the possible exemption of the thirteenth-month bonus from tax. It remains to be seen how much of this will actually come to fruition. As for the contract renewals, being driven forward by Zangrillo’s ministry, 10 billion was allocated less than a year ago, and the aim is to finalise the series of negotiations to unlock the 2025–2027 three-year period for the various sectors. Meanwhile, yesterday the Senate also gave its approval to the PA Decree, which addresses issues such as recruitment, annual leave in the public sector and new rules for local government bodies.

Whilst the decisive blow regarding the party’s vulnerability to the ‘deserters’ (copyright Tajani) is, in short, slow in coming, this axis stretching from Calabria up to Piedmont, with its sights set on Milan, is at least attempting to carve out a place for itself on the party’s economic agenda. Perhaps in the hope that these battles might form the basis for a motion at the party conference. Perhaps immediately after the general election.