Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Monday that the government's promise to reduce taxes did not contradict its commitment to the European Union to reduce public debt
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th June, 2019) Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Monday that the government's promise to reduce taxes did not contradict its commitment to the European Union to reduce public debt.In December, the European Commission accepted Italy's draft budget for 2019, in which the government pledged to cut some of its spending. However, the Italian government went on modifying the draft, and increasing pensions, unemployment benefits and tax cuts for small businesses and low-income citizens, all of which increased the spending forecast above the agreed level.
"We don't need to ask for money from the Germans, the Spaniards, or the Luxembourgers. We want to use the money of the Italian people," Salvini said at a press conference in Milan, as cited by the ANSA news agency.
According to the report, Salvini added that cutting taxes and reducing public debt, as agreed upon with the European Union, were not mutually exclusive. He also suggested the possibility of introducing a minimum wage in Italy, something proposed by fellow Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio, but only after tax cuts.
EU fiscal regulations require each member state to keep their deficit and debt below 3 percent and 60 percent of their national GDPs, respectively. If a country fails to meet these standards, it is expected to take measures to reduce the figures within the given time frame. Italy's debt is currently over double the limit 132 percent of the national GDP and the pace at which it is being reduced has been deemed too slow by the European Union.
On June 5, the European Union admitted that disciplinary procedures against Italy might be launched and a 3 billion euro ($3.4 billion) penalty imposed for disobeying EU budgetary regulations.
