Premier Paolo Gentiloni on Monday
visited the central Italian area hit by deadly earthquakes last
year and rebutted claims from a local mayor that the population
had been "fooled" by the government over post-quake tax breaks.
Gentiloni visited the village of Arquata del Tronto in
Marche, one of the villages flattened by quakes in August and
October that left 300 dead.
The mayor of the Lazio village of Amatrice, Sergio Pirozzi,
had said "they fooled us on the exemption from taxes and
contributions".
In Arquata, Gentiloni inspected new temporary homes set up
for quake survivors.
Replying to Pirozzi, he said Italy has "solid" laws on tax
breaks in quake-hit areas.
Gentiloni said the government had made the "most significant
economic and financial commitment that there has ever been in
reconstruction in Italy in decades".
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