Citizens' income (Italy)

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Citizens' Income Law
Emblem of Italy.svg
Italian Parliament
  • Conversion into law of the Decree entitled "Emergency provisions concerning the citizens' income and social security"
CitationLaw no. 26 of 2019
Enacted by Chamber of Deputies
Enacted by Senate
Signed by Sergio Mattarella
Signed28 March 2019
Commenced29 March 2019
Legislative history
First chamber: Chamber of Deputies
Introduced by Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister
Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Economic Development
Passed21 March 2019
Voting summary
  • 291 voted for
  • 141 voted against
  • 14 abstained
Second chamber: Senate
Member(s) in charge Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister
Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Economic Development
Passed27 March 2019
Voting summary
  • 150 voted for
  • 107 voted against
  • 7 abstained
Status: Amended

The Citizens' income (Italian : Reddito di cittadinanza) was a social welfare assistance program which was in effect in Italy between April 2019 and January 2024. [1] [2] [3] [4] Although its name recalled one of a universal basic income, it was actually a form of conditional and non-individual guaranteed minimum income. [5] [6] [7]

The citizens' income had been proposed by the Five Star Movement (M5S) and approved under the Conte I Cabinet. According to research from Italy's National Institute of Statistics, there were "one million fewer poor people thanks to the citizen' income" and the subsidy had been useful in reducing excess poverty, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy and the subsequent COVID-19 recession. [8] Poverty in Italy remained high, as 56% of the poor did not receive the allowance because they had not resided in Italy for at least 10 years, did not turn to the Centre of Fiscal Assistance and Patronages, or already had savings. [9]

The citizens' income received attention during the campaign for the 2022 Italian general election, as the parties composing the centre-right coalition wanted to abolish the measure entirely, [10] [11] [12] while the centre-left coalition wanted to reform and improve it and the M5S defended it from criticism. [13]

On 1 January 2024, the Citizens' Income was abolished and replaced by two new subsidies targeting people below a certain level of poverty: the Inclusion cheques (Italian : assegno di inclusione), reserved for those who have to care for underage, elder, or disabled family-members, and the Aid to vocational training (Italian : supporto alla formazione e al lavoro), reserved for unemployed people who are both ineligible for Inclusion cheques and actively looking for a job.

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References

  1. ↑ Giuffrida, Angela (6 March 2019). "Italy rolls out 'citizens' income' for the poor amid criticisms". The Guardian . Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  2. ↑ "What is Italy's new 'Citizens' Income' scheme?". Euronews . 6 March 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  3. ↑ Reddito di cittadinanza da aprile, scatta mese successivo alla domanda
  4. ↑ [Rdc, stop dal 2024. Quanto costeranno Assegno d’inclusione e Supporto formazione e lavoro? https://tg24.sky.it/economia/2023/12/19/reddito-cittadinanza-assegno-inclusione-supporto-formazione-lavoro]
  5. ↑ Jessuola, Matteo; Natili, Marcello; Raitano, Michele (July 2019). "Italy: Implementing the new minimum income scheme". European Social Policy Network, Flash Report 2019/35. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  6. ↑ Girardi, Annalisa (1 April 2019). "The Italian Citizen's Income Reform: Definition And Adjustments". Forbes . Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  7. ↑ Gobetti, Sandro (5 July 2018). "Italy: There is no basic income being proposed in Italy". BIN Italia. Basic Income Network Italia. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  8. ↑ Del Corno, Mauro (8 July 2022). "Istat: Un milione di poveri in meno grazie al Reddito di cittadinanza'. 4 milioni di persone guadagnano meno di 1.000 euro lordi al mese". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  9. ↑ Cottone, Nicoletta (3 November 2021). "Reddito di cittadinanza, ecco perché il 56% dei poveri non ha l'assegno". Il Sole 24 Ore (in Italian). Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  10. ↑ Frequente, Salvatore (14 August 2022). "Reddito di cittadinanza? Da 'riformare' non 'sostituire': tutte le differenze tra il programma della Lega e quello del centrodestra. E il 'sostegno all'Ucraina' sparisce". Il Fatto Quotidiano . Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  11. ↑ "Explained: What will a far-right government mean for Italy?". The Local . 2 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  12. ↑ Baldolini, Stefano (22 September 2022). "Le sei questioni che dividono il centrodestra di Meloni, Salvini e Berlusconi". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  13. ↑ Tecce, Laura (12 September 2022). "Conte: 'Non permetteremo l'abolizione del reddito di cittadinanza'". Quotidiano del Sud (in Italian). Retrieved 24 September 2022.
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