The debate on the CAP after 2020 is mainly focused on making more effective the public expenditure for agriculture. In this regard, the present paper aims to evaluate whether and how the choice of land as a criterion for redistributing aids direct payments affects the ability of the Basic payment scheme (BPS) to enhance farm incomes in Italy. To this aim, a proper quantitative analysis is provided by using the Italian version of the Farm Accountancy Data Network. Main findings show that there are other specific parameters – such as work and value added – that should be taken into account in order to improve the effectiveness of the BPS in enhancing farm incomes.