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by Giuseppe Fonte
ROME, November 21 (Reuters) – Giorgia Meloni’s first budget as Prime Minister will focus on measures to support households and businesses in the face of rising energy prices and on reducing the tax burden on employees and the self-employed, government officials said.
The Italian cabinet will meet at 8:30 p.m. on Monday to consider and approve the draft budget for 2023, which will then be submitted to parliament for validation before the end of the year.
The stimulus measures, which amount to more than 30 billion euros, will be financed around 70% by an increase in the budget deficit next year, which will rise to 4.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) , against 3.4% expected in September.
Some three billion euros will come from a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies that have profited from soaring oil and gas prices, officials said.
Other potential sources of funding lie in a tax on home deliveries to help merchants face competition from Amazon, and a reduction in the nine billion euros previously earmarked for the poverty program.
SLOWDOWN ECONOMY
Italy will spend more than 21 billion euros in 2023 to help businesses and households pay their electricity and gas bills, officials said.
About five billion euros should be devoted to reducing the “tax wedge”, ie the difference between the amount paid by the employer and the net salary received by the worker.
The Italian economy, which is experiencing runaway inflation, is expected to slow sharply in 2023, with GDP increasing by just 0.6% after 3.7% in 2022, according to the latest Treasury estimates.
Giorgia Meloni also plans to extend the 15% tax rate for the self-employed to those whose annual income does not exceed 85,000 euros, against a current ceiling of 65,000 euros. She also wants to set up an amnesty on tax arrears of up to 1,000 euros dating from before 2016, one of the most controversial measures in the bill.
The government is also considering lowering the retirement age so that Italians can receive a pension from the age of 62, provided they have contributed for at least 41 years.
(French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Blandine Hénault)