The government of Giorgia Meloni, after the cabinet meeting which lasted about an hour, approved and presented the Italian state budget for 2026, amounting to 18.7 billion euros.

The lower pensions are to receive an increase of 20 euros per month, while the available resources, as Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti explained, did not allow the approval of special financial assistance for the purchase of school books by students’ families. Among other things, there is a small increase in the price of cigarettes as well as tax breaks for divorced parents on low incomes.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking to the press, underlined that her government has decided to increase the funding of the national health system by 2.4 billion euros for 2026, while the tax scale for incomes from 28,000 to 50,000 per year will be reduced from 35% to 33%. At the same time, two billion euros are to be allocated for the adjustment of salaries taking into account the increase in the cost of living.

The head of the government of Rome also referred to the contribution to the state budget requested from banks and insurance companies, amounting to up to 4.5 billion euros, mainly by “freezing” tax deductions. “We do not expect a negative impact on the country’s credit system” because “there was no intention to punish” and “no type of taxation of excess profits was approved,” said Meloni.

“We consider that, overall, the burden of this measure will not be unbearable, taking into account that we have a strong and profitable banking system,” added Italian Finance Minister Giorgetti.

Finally, the Italian government has decided that the increase in defense spending over the next year will be covered by extraordinary resources outside the state budget.