The resources allocated to families by the 2024 budget amount to "one billion euros again this year, following a plan and a vision". This was said by the Minister for Family, Birth and Equal Opportunities Eugenia Roccella. Among the novelties is the fact that the state will pay social security contributions to be paid by the worker for mothers with two children or more and that nurseries will be free from the second child onwards. "We want to establish that a woman who gives birth to at least two children - explained Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the end of the CDM - has already made an important contribution to society and therefore the State partly compensates by paying social security contributions. We want to dismantle the narrative that the birth rate is a disincentive to work." The choice of tax relief, but also of free kindergarten, stems from the observation, as Minister Roccella has repeatedly said, citing Istat surveys, "that the family with two children remains the most frequently expressed desire by Italian women but cannot be realized due to the obstacles that stand in the way." A measure that at the same time has also been put in place to combat the many resignations from work - as the data always testify - to which mothers are increasingly forced. A measure, therefore, that in its intentions wants to broaden the audience: on the one hand it facilitates families and on the other it supports equal opportunities. On the other hand, the situation of the single allowance remains unchanged, a choice also dictated by the fact that the measure is under infringement by Europe. The maneuver will not confirm the VAT cut on baby products because, the prime minister explained, unfortunately "it has been absorbed by price increases" linked to inflation.
The package decided by the Government to help families includes the enhancement of parental leave: that is, a mother or father for ten months can take leave from work for ten months. Previously, the first month of leave from work was 30% of the salary and in the last budget law it was increased to 80% of the salary, with the new maneuver the second month goes from 30% to 60% of the salary. In addition, investments in government bonds are separated from the ISEE calculation, since this choice to manage savings is usually made by households. The measures for mortgages for the first home, support for private kindergartens, the ''dedicated to you' card for the purchase of groceries and there will be accommodation for off-site university students are reconfirmed. For Roccella, the budget law confirms "the government's great attention to families, to the birth rate, to women's work, to the social value of parenthood, to support situations of fragility. All this is not done through flags or spot measures, but through organic interventions."
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