Secretary, do you like the tax reform proposal that has been illustrated to you?
«In the meantime, we have raised a question of method – he replies the leader of the CISL, Luigi Sbarra, after the meeting between the government and the trade unions -. The social partners cannot be called within hours of the council of ministers for partial and general information on the draft enabling law. On the merits then, the government speaks of reducing the rates without saying where and so on the brackets and on the revision of deductions and deductions ».
What do you ask?
«We have a unitary CGIL, CISL and UIL platform for a redistributive tax reform that responds to criteria of solidarity and progressiveness. Other than flat tax!».
Why don’t you like it?
«Because the single rate contradicts the criteria of fairness and has no redistributive value. We ask to start with a strong tax reduction on employees and pensioners, who have always paid taxes down to the last penny. To do this, resources can be found with a more effective fight against tax avoidance and tax evasion, which subtract 100 billion from the state coffers every year. Let’s start with the 20 billion recovered in 2022 by the Revenue Agency: they are intended for employees and pensioners ».
Come?
«By restoring the tax relief on performance bonuses and welfare agreements, which we also want to extend to public sectors. With the Draghi government we had raised the ceiling on fringe benefits to 3 thousand euros, now it has returned to 258 euros. Furthermore, we want the return of the fiscal drag on wages and pensions, massacred by inflation and the increase of the wedge cut to 5 points».
Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano told you that changes will be possible in Parliament.
“I find that a mistake. We expect the government to correct the course before the Council of Ministers: on this we will measure the seriousness of relations with the government. The discussion on this, as on the other reforms, from pensions to health and safety, from the protection of purchasing power to basic income, must be done upstream, not downstream. We cannot continue to witness measures that are decided without any confrontation with us ».
Did the government understand?
“I do not know. But if we don’t have answers, the CISL will evaluate with the CGIL and UIL which initiatives of mobilization and struggle to implement».
Even the oppositions are ready to mobilize.
“The union will make its decisions independently, as the CISL has always done.”
Elly Schlein mentioned the Cisl in her first speech as secretary of the Democratic Party.
“We greatly appreciated the call to our initiative to collect signatures for a popular initiative law proposal on participation and economic democracy according to article 46 of the Constitution”.