(ANSA) - Rome, September 15 - Farmers will not have to pay the IMU property tax or the IRAP business tax next year, Premier Matteo Renzi told an assembly of farmers' association Coldiretti Tuesday. "We found the (financial) cover yesterday, it will be in the 2016 budget," he said. Renzi has already vowed to eliminate the municipal service tax TASI and IMU for all in next year's budget. The European Commission has criticised the move, saying Italy should rather be cutting labour taxes.
Italy's agriculture sector is set to benefit from one billion euros in tax cuts, Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina said Tuesday after Premier Matteo Renzi announced farmers will not have to pay the IMU property tax or the IRAP business tax next year.
"One billion euros in tax cuts are coming with the elimination of IMU and IRAP for agriculture," Martina said at Expo. "It's an unprecedented commitment to support the income of Italian farmers and help investment and employment".