ROME, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on Monday for the country's wealthy citizens to buy sovereign bonds, as part of a drive to have an increasing amount of the government's debt in domestic hands and limit the impact of any future financial crises.
The sustainability of Italy's huge public debt, already the euro zone's second-largest after Greece in relation to gross domestic product (GDP), has long been seen as a crucial factor for the survival of the bloc.
"We hope that those who are a little better off will give us a hand in keeping the debt in Italian hands," Meloni said in a television interview.
Bank of Italy data showed that in October foreign investors held a 27.5% share of the country's 2.86 trillion euro ($3.11 trillion) public debt.
To further boost domestic holdings, Rome's 2024 budget includes a measure to partly discount government bond income from the ISEE, a household wealth indicator that determines access to welfare benefits under government means testing.
Under the scheme, still to become effective, taxpayers can deduct from the ISEE a maximum of 50,000 euros in sovereign bonds and investment products for small savers.
The opposition and academics have criticized the proposal, saying it would blunt welfare programmes' focus on the poor.
Italy's debt is seen edging down by just 0.6 percentage point between 2023 and 2026, when it is targeted at 139.6% of GDP. The targets factor in proceeds from asset disposals worth about 1% of GDP, or about 20 billion euros.
"We can cut our stake in some state-owned companies without compromising public control," Meloni said.
($1 = 0.9187 euros) (Writing by Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Susan Fenton)
