Mustn't raise VAT for flat tax -Di Maio

(ANSA) - Rome, May 21 - Deputy Premier and 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday that he was against the hypothesis of increasing value-added tax in order finance a pledge to introduce a two-tier flat tax on income. Fellow Deputy Premier and League leader Matteo Salvini is pressing hard for the flat tax. "The important thing is that VAT and the flat tax are not linked, that VAT is not increased to have the flat tax," Di Maio, who is also labour and industry minister, told an ANSA Forum ahead of this week's European elections.
    "I'd appreciate it if, in the next few days, the League presented the coverage (to finance the flat tax)". Italy's VAT is set to increase at the start of 2020 unless the government can find alternative budget funding to deactivate so-called safeguard clauses.
    On Tuesday Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said he was in favour of having higher VAT and lower income tax.