Jobless to get tax bonus, too

(ANSA) - Rome, May 14 - Premier Matteo Renzi's signature tax-reduction plan will be extended to Italians who are receiving benefits for layoffs or unemployment, the national tax agency announced Wednesday.
    The announcement comes at a time when Italy has been struggling to fully recover from its worst recession since the Second World War, with statistics showing that although the economy stopped shrinking last fall, it is not yet showing much strength.
    The jobless rate remains at a high of 12.7% in general with youth unemployment at 42.7%, an indication of the continued weak economy which forecasters such as national statistical agency Istat say will likely grow by about 0.6% this year, rising to about 1.0% growth in 2015.
    Against this backdrop, Renzi last month announced an economic blueprint that includes spending cuts and the sale of some State assets to finance measures including a 10-billion-euro tax-bonus plan for lower-income earners, aimed at those who earn between 8,000 euros per year and 26,000 euros annually.
    Wednesday's announcement means that people receiving various work-related benefits will be included in the tax-bonus plan that aims to leave an extra 80 euros per month in the wallets of lower-income earners.
    Last week, one of Renzi's cabinet ministers suggested that one-wage families might also benefit from the tax-bonus plan. Italian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Maurizio Lupi said the government was studying three categories of such single-income families that might be included, such as households with 1,800 euros net earnings per month and only one child; 2,000 euros with two children; and 2,200 euros net with three children.
    Renzi's administration is hoping that measures in his economic blueprint will help to spur economic growth.
    That includes the tax-bonus plan which is contained in a decree now working its way through parliament and expected back in the Lower House in early June. However, more than 800 amendments to the decree have been proposed in the Senate finance and budget committees by members of opposition political parties, including 80 amendments from the 5-Star Movement (M5S) led by maverick comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo.