There is just over a month left until the date by which the 2026 Budget Law must have the approval of both Chambers. A new majority summit on the Maneuver is expected. It should be around November 26 or 27, in time for Giorgia Meloni’s return from the G20 in South Africa. The week that has just begun is a decisive one, because it could be the one that resolves some issues on which there is more tension in the Senate.
With the new meeting, a definitive agreement will have to be found on some amendments which have now become the flag of individual majority parties. All while remaining within the accounts, which must balance. Among the issues to be resolved there are several, such as those on short-term rentals and banks. The regional elections in Campania, Veneto and Puglia could make a difference, as they have already outlined new political balances within the majority itself.
Meanwhile on Tuesday the Senate Budget Committee will have to rule on the admissibility of the groups’ reported amendments, around 414, but for several days the Government has already had to find a solution on issues such as:
- hyper-depreciation;
- the tax regime on dividends;
- ISEE exemption on first homes;
- the gold tax;
- new hires among the police forces.
What is the majority summit for?
A new majority meeting should therefore be convened in the next few days. The meeting at Palazzo Chigi will serve to decide on the finishing touches to the 18.7 billion budget 2026 budget. This was approved in mid-October and is now being considered by the Senate.
The meeting becomes necessary to find a definitive agreement on the changes presented by November 18th and do so without displeasing the parties too much. In any case, the changes must not alter the costs, which remain unchanged under the indication of Meloni and Giorgetti.
However, internal tensions within the Government are expected on the horizon, because the issues to be resolved in the Maneuver are intertwined with the vote in the regional elections in Campania, Veneto and Puglia. The results have somehow reshaped the balance of power between the parties, with Meloni having a major defeat at the polls, and thus making one or the other party win on the flag measures.
Against this background, the meeting therefore becomes crucial to establish which corrections will actually enter the final text to be brought to the Chamber around 15 December.
We already know that the 414 amendments of the majority are not all destined to pass political scrutiny and, among these, some measures are more sensitive because they affect the fiscal plan and structural interventions on which compromises must be found.
The block on short-term rentals, banks and tax authorities
The issues without an agreement are those of short-term rentals, the contribution of the banks and, in general, the tax authorities.
The topic of short-term rentals is one of the hottest. It is mainly opposed by Vice President Antonio Tajani. The latter anticipated that the solution could be to leave the situation as it is, while evaluating a lowering of the number of properties after which a higher rate is triggered. Today the threshold is 5 properties, which could drop to 3.
In agreement with the League, Forza Italia continues to ask to block the increase in the flat tax rate to 26% envisaged by the 2026 budget, keeping it at 21% on the first property.
On the issue of the banks, the majority is even more clearly divided, with Forza Italia considering the chapter closed and against new increases, and the League instead proposing to bring the banks’ IRAP to 2.5%, with an exemption of 500,000 euros for the smallest institutions (assets under 30 billion).
The other measures under discussion are:
- the extension of hyper-depreciation;
- the tax regime of dividends;
- the expansion of the ISEE exemption on first homes;
- taxation on investment gold;
- new hires in the police forces and military bodies.
Maneuver calendar: the next stages
We have already witnessed several phases of the 2026 Budget. After the November 18th deadline for defining the amendments, the next steps are:
- from 19 to 13-14 December the amendments will be discussed, complete with a vote in commission;
- on 15 December the text of the maneuver reaches the Senate;
- on December 31st it must be approved by the House to avoid the provisional exercise.
