The Council of Ministers, which has the passing of the Budget law on its agenda, is postponed. For the moment “only” for a few hours (at present the meeting at Palazzo Chigi is called for 20:30). But the postponement is sufficient to confirm the more or less latent tensions affecting the majority, grappling with a budget law which even more than in the past leaves decidedly little room for maneuver given that two-thirds of the thirty billion resources made available are intended to contain the expensive bills.
The tug of war on the VAT cut for basic foodstuffs
Hence the difficulties together with the attempt to assert at least some “flag” if not one’s own flags. Like the one on the cut in VAT on basic foodstuffs – pasta, bread and milk – requested by Forza Italia and the Lega (“It would be a nice thing” said Matteo Salvini) but which sees the premier’s party, Fratelli d Italy, because it is considered ineffective if the objective is to mitigate income erosion.
The game on flat tax and pensions
On the flat tax and pensions, however, it seems that Salvini has now resigned himself to raising the benefit of the flat tax to companies up to 85,000 (and not 100,000) in turnover, just as the announced overrun of Fornero will stop at 103 (41 years of contributions and at least 62 years of age) in the expectation of generalizing the so-called “quota 41” in the next few years, no longer accompanied by the personal data requirement.
The tax break
Even the so-called “tax truce” will be calibrated on bills up to 1000 euros and no more, because up to that threshold it would cost more to collect them. However, nothing striking and certainly very far from electoral promises. Even if even then very different tones were noted among the allies.
The prudence of Meloni and Giorgetti
The “we will do what can be done” Giorgia Meloni had already made it clear before the elections of 25 September. The prime minister continues to repeat that this is a legislature government, that there are “5 years ahead of us” and therefore there will be time and a way to honor those commitments. A “prudence” rewarded by the markets with a falling spread and also by rates that are certainly affected by the ongoing monetary tightening but not by the fears of the choices of the Italian government. After all, in addition to Meloni, his Economy Minister, the Northern League Giancarlo Giorgetti, preaches “prudence and responsibility”, who had already explained it face-to-face to the leader of his party a few hours before the meeting at Palazzo Chigi with the group leaders majority.