ROME (Reuters) – Italy is preparing a new 13 billion euro stimulus package to help homes and businesses cope with rising electricity, gas and fuel costs gasoline, Deputy Economy Minister Laura Castelli said on Monday.
This program, which comes on top of some 33 billion euros already planned since January, should be one of the last decisions of the President of the Council, Mario Draghi, who resigned last week, paving the way for early elections on September 25.
Among the measures under consideration, the government could temporarily exempt everyday consumer products such as pasta and bread from VAT, Laura Castelli told the Radio 24 television channel.
A subsidy to support companies whose gas and electricity expenses represent a significant part of their expenses and low-income households is also under study, added the deputy minister.
These measures will be financed by savings or revenues in other sectors of the state budget and will therefore not weigh on the public deficit, said Castelli.
The harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) stood at 8.5% in June in Italy, up from the 7.3% increase recorded in May.
“Inflation has never been so high since 1986. It is a phenomenon that considerably erodes the purchasing power of Italians,” said the deputy minister.
(Report Giuseppe Fonte, French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Sophie Louet)
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