Budget 'text is closed', (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, October 29 - The 2019 budget bill's "text is closed" and it will arrive in parliament on Wednesday, sources at Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte's office said Monday. They said the text had been completed and was now being assessed by State accountants and the economy ministry.
    Economy Minister Giovanni Tria on Monday met Conte to discuss the 2019 budget.
    Last week the European Commission took the unprecedented step of rejecting the plan and asking for a revised package within three weeks.
    Italian government officials have said the plan will not be changed.
    The budget will contain a fund of 525 million euros a year in 2019-2021 for reparations to shareholders bilked by banking crises over recent years, sources said Monday.
    It will also contain a bonus for encourage firms to hire "excellent" young candidates, for graduates under the age of 30.
    VAT hikes will be stopped for 2019, then rates of 11.5% and 24.5% will be set.
    Some 4.2 billion euros will be earmarked over the three-year period for civil-service hirings. The budget will also contain a 'flat tax' for afterschool catch-up lessons, and allot free land for 20 years for farming families who have a third child.