FACTBOX- Italy on track to meet end-year deadline to pass 2023 budget, key points

Italy is on track to meet an end-year deadline to secure parliament's backing for its 2023 budget, a package aimed at curbing high energy bills and cutting taxes for payroll workers and the self-employed. Here are some of the key points in the budget:

PUBLIC FINANCES Next year's budget deficit is targeted to fall to 4.5% of gross domestic product from 5.6% this year. The package is still expansionary because under an unchanged policy scenario the deficit ratio was headed for 3.4%.

The public debt is targeted to edge down to 144.6% of GDP from 145.7% this year. WINDFALL TAXES

Italy plans to collect around 2.6 billion euros ($2.8 billion) from a 50% one-off windfall tax next year on energy companies that have benefited from the surge in oil and gas prices. An additional 1.4 billion euros stems from a 180 euro price cap on energy produced by plants fuelled by coal, fuel oil and renewable sources.

PAYMENT FIRMS, BANKS Italy will impose a levy on payments firms and banks if they fail to agree lower fees on electronic transactions with shopkeepers by March 31.

The "solidarity contribution" is equivalent to 50% of the net proceeds from electronic transactions worth less than 30 euros. Rome has also renewed a measure that was in force in 2012 to give borrowers the right to convert mortgages worth up to 200,000 euros from floating to fixed rates.

HELP WITH ENERGY CRISIS Over 21 billion euros will go to help firms and households pay electricity and gas bills, mainly through subsidies for energy-intensive firms and low income families.

TAX CUTS FOR EMPLOYEES The budget offers fiscal incentives to encourage hiring on open ended contracts of people under 36, fixed-term workers and people drawing the "citizens' wage" jobless benefit.

TAX CUTS ON SELF-EMPLOYED, TAX AMNESTIES For the self-employed, the budget lifts the ceiling on annual income taxed with a single 15% rate to 85,000 euros from 65,000 euros.

The budget also includes several tax amnesties allowing taxpayers to catch up with missed payments through reduced penalties, and raises a limit on cash payments to 5,000 euros from next year, up from a previous ceiling of 1,000 euros. SOCCER CLUBS

Rome allows soccer clubs to settle almost 900 million euros in tax arrears over 60 instalments, responding to lobbying from hard-pressed teams whose finances were hit by COVID-19 lockdowns. "CITIZENS' WAGE" POVERTY RELIEF SCHEME

Next year, able-bodied people of working age will only be able to draw the benefit for a maximum of seven months, ahead of complete abolition of the scheme from Jan 1, 2024. PENSIONS

Next year Italians will be able to draw a pension from the age of 62 provided they have paid in at least 41 years of contributions. That compares with the current rule, put in place for just this year by the previous government, allowing people to retire at 64 provided they had worked for 38 years. ($1 = 0.9435 euros)