According to CGIL simulations, the reduction of the Irpef rate from 35% to 33% for incomes up to 50 thousand euros would have a minimal impact on the majority of Italians. For 70% of taxpayers who declare incomes of less than 28 thousand euros, the benefit would be zero. With an income of 30 thousand euros, you would earn just 3.3 euros per month (40 per year), reaching 36.7 euros per month (440 per year) only for those who reach 50 thousand euros. The general secretary of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini, does not mince words: “It’s almost a joke.”
The benefits of the Irpef reduction
In detail, here is the table with the annual taxable amount and the net benefit, according to CGIL data.
| Annual tax base | Annual net benefit |
|---|---|
| 28,000.00 | 0.00 |
| 30,000.00 | 40.00 |
| 35,000.00 | 140.00 |
| 40,000.00 | 240.00 |
| 45,000.00 | 340.00 |
| 50,000.00 | 440.00 |
| 55,000.00 | 440.00 |
| 60,000.00 | 440.00 |
| 70,000.00 | 440.00 |
| 80,000.00 | 440.00 |
| 90,000.00 | 440.00 |
| 100,000.00 | 440.00 |
What changes for workers and pensioners
The CGIL research office compared the tax due for different types of income. According to the simulations, for those who will have an income of 35 thousand euros in 2025 the Irpef impact would be:
- for an employee 6,898 euros;
- for a pensioner 8,413 euros;
- a self-employed person with flat tax 4,095 euros;
- those with a financial income 4,375 euros.
The data highlights a strong disparity: for the same income, employees and pensioners bear a much higher tax burden. For this reason, Landini points the finger at a tax system that
it progressively taxes only employees and pensioners, while financial income, real estate income and profits are taxed less and at a flat rate. This is madness.
From the latest tax statistics for the 2023 tax year, we can see how the self-employed who fall under the preferential single rate tax regime (flat tax at 5% or 15%) have paid around 3.6 billion in tax.
To complicate matters, there is also the fiscal drain
In addition to this disparity, workers and pensioners have suffered the effect of “fiscal drag”. Due to cumulative inflation of +16.4% between 2022 and 2024, nominal incomes have increased, pushing many taxpayers into higher income tax brackets. The result? They paid more taxes despite diminishing real purchasing power. The CGIL study quantifies the impact on the individual:
- an employee whose income went from 27,794 euros (2022) to 30,993 euros (2024) suffered a drain of 1,382 euros;
- a pensioner with a taxable income that increased from 16,900 to 19,225 euros lost 708 euros.
According to Landini, cutting the rate to 33% is not the answer to this problem. The union is instead asking for resources to reduce taxes on contractual increases and guarantee full equalization of pensions.
The CGIL proposal is a contribution of solidarity
How to finance these measures? The CGIL proposes to introduce a solidarity contribution for taxpayers with incomes exceeding two million euros. These would be around 500 thousand high-income taxpayers: with a rate of 1.3%, the estimated revenue would be 26 billion per year. Fundamental resources for financing and investing in healthcare, education, non-self-sufficiency, housing policies, social policies, public transport.
According to the CGIL, this would be a choice compatible with the new European economic rules which – despite the rigidities and constraints of the PSC – still provide for the possibility of increasing spending – to support work, wages, pensions, welfare and investments – recovering new structural revenues for the state budget.
