Basic income, flat tax not alternatives

(ANSA) - Rome, September 5 - A basic income and a flat tax are not alternatives in the government's budget policy, Deputy Premier and Industry and Labour Minister Luigi Di Maio said Wednesday.
    A universal basic income is the flagship policy pledge of Di Maio's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) while a flat tax - in fact a dual tax at 15% and 20% - is the rallying cry of the M5S's ruling partner, the anti-migrant Euroskeptic League.
    Critics say pushing through both would bust the budget, breaking EU limits on financial discipline.
    Di Maio said "the basic income and the flat tax are not alternatives.
    "Our goal is to decide how to best spend Italians' taxes and to see how to cut them, all in favour of citizens' lives. And it's possible to do it." He said "no one wants to bust the accounts or destroy Europe", he said, referring to a statement from European Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger.