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.
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