2015 budget to clear Senate Friday

(ANSA) - Rome, December 16 - The government's 2015 budget should reach the floor of the Senate for general discussion on Thursday as planned, before being put to a confidence vote the following day, sources said Tuesday.
    The bill, which features 18 billion euros in tax cuts as part of an effort to revive the recession-hit Italian economy, is currently before the Senate budget committee after clearing the Lower House.
    Following approval by the Senate it must return to the Lower House for final approval before passing into law. The revised bill - to which around 3,800 amendments were presented - could include exemptions on the regional production tax IRAP for businesses with no employees and new measures concerning pension funds. The measures have drawn widespread criticism including from within Premier Matteo Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party (PD).
    Last Friday, two major labour union federations, CGIL and UIL, called a general strike in protest against the budget and the government's controversial Jobs Act labour reform package.