January 5, 2026 13:40

With the approval of the 2026 budget law at the end of December, the Italian government has officially postponed — for the eighth time — the introduction of the plastic tax.

The levy, set at €450 per ton on single-use plastic items (MACSI), excluding bioplastics and recycled materials, was due to come into force on July 1, 2026.
It has now been deferred to Jan. 1, 2027, as anticipated during the drafting of the financial bill.

The postponement of the tax has been welcomed by the plastics processing industry but not by some segments of the plastics recycling sector, which had hoped for a measure to help correct the price gap between virgin and recycled materials.

The law also reshapes Italy’s industrial investment support schemes, particularly those linked to Industry 4.0 and Transition 5.0.
The government has reintroduced hyper-depreciation, an enhanced tax deduction scheme that allows companies to deduct a higher notional value of capital goods for tax purposes.
The new regime applies to investments made between Jan. 1, 2026, and Sept. 30, 2028, replacing the previous system of tax credits.
To qualify for the benefit, the capital goods must be produced within the European Union or in countries that are part of the European Economic Area, as stipulated by the new “Made in EU” clause.

The deduction rates have been significantly increased: +180% for investments up to €2.5 million, +100% for amounts between €2.5 million and €10 million, and +50% for the portion between €10 million and €20 million. A previously proposed 220% deduction rate — tied to energy consumption reductions — has been removed from the final text.
Assuming a 24% corporate income tax rate (IRES), the incentive translates into effective tax savings ranging from 43.2% to 12%, depending on the investment amount.

In parallel, the budget law allocates €1.3 billion to close out the Industry 4.0 incentive framework and introduces a limited Transition 5.0 measure for energy-intensive companies. In 2026, eligible firms will be able to claim tax credits on capital goods purchases, applying the same rates as the earlier Transition 5.0 plan. A dedicated €10 million fund has been earmarked to support the initiative.

Finally, the government has refinanced two additional investment support tools: the Nuova Sabatini measure, with €650 million allocated for 2026–2027, and the Development Contracts program, with over €500 million in new funding.

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