Agriculture and fisheries in the budget bill: measures totalling 1.5 billion – here’s where the Government will take action
A boost from hi-tech and new tax and diesel relief measures; the green light for the Cig scheme for fishermen
A figure of just under 1.5 billion, including the extension of the IRPEF exemption for farmers. This is the value of the 2027 Budget for the agriculture and fisheries sectors, as approved by the Government.
Agricultural income tax: confirmation of tax relief on diesel used in agriculture and fisheries; a budget of 160 million for the tax credit on investments in ‘Agriculture 4.0’ innovation; stabilisation of the redundancy scheme for fishermen; and a fund of 100 million (for the two-year period 2027–28) for the modernisation of fishing vessels: this, in summary, is the list of measures.
The first confirmation concerns the abolition of agricultural income tax (IRPEF), in line with previous years. This measure, introduced in 2017, has been extended year on year, albeit in various forms. It applies to professional farmers and smallholders registered with the INPS social security scheme and provides for a total tax exemption on the sum of agricultural and property income up to 10,000 euros. The tax exemption then drops to 50 per cent for income between 10,000 and 15,000 euros. ‘The measure,’ Coldiretti explains, ‘is estimated to affect around 70 per cent of Italian farmers who file a tax return. It has an estimated cost of 130 million and involves around 415,000 individuals.’
Another extension of great importance to the sector is the one concerning agricultural diesel. For Italia, this requires funding of around one billion euros and has also been confirmed for 2027. In recent years, under the Green Deal, some countries had begun phasing out subsidies for agricultural fuel, but the surge in oil product prices triggered by the wars in Russia-Ukraine and the Middle East has forced more than one government to reintroduce support measures. Italia has never abolished them.
The 2027 Budget makes a significant contribution to technological modernisation in the agriculture and fisheries sectors. A fund of 160 million has in fact been set aside to refinance the ‘Agricoltura 4.0’ tax credit. “Funding will be available,” commented a spokesperson from MASAF, “for high-tech tractors and agricultural machinery, precision farming equipment and digital systems for monitoring crops and production processes.”
