Salvini says won't sign 'blank cheque for wealth tax' amid bust-up

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 6 - League leader Matteo Salvini said Wednesday that he would not sign off on any measures that could lead to a wealth tax as he explained a bust-up with the rest of the government over a reform of Italy's tax system.
    The League's ministers on Tuesday snubbed a cabinet meeting that approved an enabling bill for a sweeping reform of the tax system, including an overhaul of the land-registry values that determine property taxes.
    The League are objecting to this even though the enabling bill, which outlines the broad areas the reform will touch on and does not go into detail, said the property taxes will not increase as a result of the overhaul, at least not before 2026.
    "I won't sign a blank cheque and it is not enough for me if the economy minister says the increases will be from 2026," Salvini told reporters outside the Senate.
    "This is a wealth tax on a resource that is already taxed".
    He said the League remains "inside" the ruling majority when asked if he was thinking of pulling the party's support for Premier Mario Draghi's broad coalition government.
    He added that, if anything, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) should pull out, saying parliament had given its support to Draghi's government "to lower taxes, not increase them".
    He stressed that the League's support for the government "is not in question as long as it cuts taxes".
    He also said he was hopeful parliament would scrap the part of the enabling bill regarding the land registry.
    Draghi said Tuesday in presenting the reform that no taxpayer would pay any more, or less, due to the package. (ANSA).