Budget will stoke growth, won't create debt alarm-Tria

(ANSA) - Rome, September 26 - Economy Minister Giovanni Tria pledged on Wednesday that the government's 2019 budget law will stoke growth without sparking alarms about the management of Italy's public debt of over two trillion euros. "It will be a budget of growth, not of austerity, but also one that does not create doubts about the sustainability of our debt," Tria told retailers association Confcommercio. "We have to give a sign to the financial markets, to those who lend us money.
    "We should be careful because sometimes if you ask for too much, then you have to pay higher interest rates, and what you gain, you lose in interest".
    He added that businesses will get tax cuts from the 5-Star Movement-League government first, saying that "we'll address the problem of (income tax) IRPEF in the coming years".
    Tria is reportedly under pressure from the M5S to allow Italy's budget deficit to rise to finance the key elements of the government's programme - a basic income, a pension overhaul that would bring down the retirement age and a flat tax. "I swore that I would work in the exclusive interest of the nation, and not of others, and I was not the only one," Tria said.
    "Naturally everyone has their own vision. But, as they say, in science and in your conscience you have to try to interpret your role properly.
    "Despite what the newspapers say, I'm optimistic about doing my best".