Superbonus continues to be a burden on the state budget. The Meloni government tried to prevent this, but the construction bonuses were already out of control. There are also concerns in terms of budget law: Restructuring continues to be funded by a budget package that, as we already know, will not be easy. The problem is with loans linked to building renovations: From March to August 2023, in just five months, another 35 billion loans appeared on the bill, sold or discounted by companies. Unpredictable numbers further complicating the government’s plans. Building bonuses have changed since 2024: Let’s see the latest news from the budget law.
Super bonus and endless costs for the state
Approved by the Conte government, the Superbonus aimed to change the face of the old Italian building stock but will go down in history as one of the most important expenditures of the public budget, with modest benefits compared to the resources committed. But you have to consider all the building bonuses.
Between March and August 2023, loans linked to subsidized restructurings increased from 110 billion to 146 billion, according to the director of the Revenue Department, Ernesto Maria Ruffini, to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Of these, only 23 have already been paid; The other 123 billion, which could be discounted in four years, are largely buyerless. And then we need to add another twenty billion credits directly deducted. In addition, 4 billion loans were found to be fraudulent, and the number of irregular loans reached 12.8 billion at the end of August.
Overall, building bonuses are more expensive than expected: the 90 percent façade bonus implemented in 2020 costs 26 billion when it should have cost 5.9 billion. 35 billion was expected to be spent for the 110 percent Super Bonus, but according to the latest data provided by Enea, this ratio is approaching 100.
The benefits of the stimulus were modest: +1.2 percentage points of GDP in 2021, +0.7 percent in 2022 last year, and even one point less in 2023, but forecasts for last year need to be updated on the negative. All this to carry out renovations on more than 422,000 buildings, about 3 percent of the total.
Adding to the modest economic effects are questions of equity: the Super Bonus actually had no income cap and was used indiscriminately by the rich and the less wealthy: “The generosity of concessions to the wealthiest taxpayers would have been a sign of ‘dead weight’ (that is, if not an incentive) for taxpayers. Given the reasonably higher efficiency, the Parliamentary Budget Office underlined in a note on the measure.
Meloni government’s new Super Bonus: how building bonuses have changed from 2024
The European “Case Green” directive to renovate homes and bring them to the minimum energy efficiency threshold has not yet been defined, but it is known that the Italian building stock must comply with the new standards, pollute less and allow citizens to save energy. . There are approximately 12.4 million residential buildings in Italy, including approximately 32 million residences. As can be seen from data on the energy class of buildings provided by Enea, more than 60 percent were built more than 45 years ago: more than half are actually in the two worst grades, F and G.
That’s why the Meloni government is considering a new building bonus system, rearranging the existing cuts. Meanwhile, as Forza Italia MP Erica Mazzetti, who signed the bill on new building bonuses, explained to Today.it, the various incentives currently envisioned from 2024 will become more and more converged, perhaps condensing them into a single measure.
“The industry needs to be structurally promoted, we need to rearrange the incentives, they’re too much and they overlap,” Mazzetti told Today.it. Also we can’t think of renovating the house for free for everyone. We need to look to the next 20 years: Our country needs to increase energy efficiency, improve seismicity and increase the smart use of water.”
The reform will result in greater disruption rates based on the improvements that the building will achieve through interventions at various priority levels. The government envisages that the duration of these incentives should be “at least ten years” in order to achieve climate and energy efficiency targets and comply with the new European directive.
Which renovations will be funded: methods studied
Expenditures that can be deducted from new building bonuses in the draft law on the reorganization of home renovation incentives are listed as follows:
- Thermal insulation of vertical, horizontal and inclined opaque surfaces in existing buildings that affect “more than 25 percent of the building envelope”;
- Replacing air-conditioning systems with Class A condensing systems or heat pumps or hybrid or geothermal systems, as well as through the installation of photovoltaic systems or connection to 5-star biomass boilers or efficient district heating systems;
- Installation of photovoltaic solar energy systems connected to the electricity grid and equipped with accumulation systems, as well as solar panels for domestic hot water production;
- Collection, possible treatment, conservation and reuse of rainwater and wastewater, as well as increasing efficiency and reducing water consumption;
- Establishment of infrastructure for charging electric vehicles;
- Installation of windows, including fixtures that meet certain quality requirements. Not only real windows, but also entrance doors, garage doors and doors, and even interior doors if they contribute to improving the energy efficiency of the building;
- Installation of curtains.
In order to benefit from the new incentives, the renovation works must reach at least D energy class of the building in question or if it is already in E or D class, it must be upgraded by two classes. If this is not possible, the deduction for buildings of class F or G is recognized within the limit of 80 percent in relation to the improvement of at least two energy classes.
The transfer of the loan and the discount on the invoice will be reactivated, but relevant interventions will be allowed for all of them in the first residence and in the common areas of the apartments”:
- Persons with an income of up to 50,000 Euros;
- Individuals in a flat rate system.
For incomes exceeding 80,000 Euros, the deduction rate will be gradually reduced to the limit of 40 percent of the deduction from incomes above 150,000 Euros. However, the deduction is applied as 100 percent for “persons without tax capacity”.
To finance these interventions, the bill mentions “Green Mortgages” aimed at financing energy efficiency and seismic mitigation interventions in residential buildings; In this context, the State performs the support function as well as the guarantor of successful completion by assumption. All or part of the interest rate through the inclusion of existing housing guarantee funds and the use of European Investment Bank resources.
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Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
