Giorgia Melons suspends il Redditometer: “We need further information”. The measure to ferret out hidden assets proposed by Fratelli d'Italia did not last even 24 hours. With the European elections upon us, the stakes were too high. After a day of tension for the majority, the prime minister decided to suspend the measure. The Chamber approved the League's agenda, putting an end to the measure reintroduced by a decree of the Brothers of Italy. “I have agreed with Deputy Minister Leo that it is better to suspend the decree pending further investigation,” Meloni declared on social media. “Our objective is, and remains, to combat the great tax evasion – he added -. However, without oppressing ordinary people with invasive rules." He will talk about it again after the elections.
Giorgia Meloni suspends the Redditometer: here's why
Before reaching this decision, Meloni had tried to calm things down. “No “big fiscal brother will ever be introduced by this government”, he had written on social media, reiterating his position against the Redditometer. “I have always been against invasive income measurement mechanisms applied to ordinary people,” she added.
The publication of the decree in the Official Journal, which brought the Redditometer back to life, risked damaging the government just before the European elections. The timing of which was perceived by many as a "slip", creating tensions within the majority. Social media had reacted harshly, accusing the prime minister of betraying her promises against the instrument abolished in 2018. This return to the past is a hard blow for both the prime minister and the deputy economy minister.
For this reason, Prime Minister Meloni hastened to suspend the measurement. “The implementation of the tax delegation, which includes the publication of the decree to restore the Redditometer, was carried out by the Deputy Minister of Economy Leo to improve the relationship between State and citizen, protect honest workers and combat major tax evasion”.
Redditometer: the reactions
They rejoice Matteo Salvini, Antonio Tajani e Maurizio Gasparri of Forza Italia who had asked for the repeal of the Redditometer, defining it as an obsolete tool that must be cancelled. “I am very satisfied, the prime minister accepted our request,” declared Tajani. “It's good that the government has decided to stop fiscal Big Brother,” adds Salvini.
The opposition has harshly criticized the government. ll Pd calls for the resignation of Leo and Giorgetti: "They were placed under commissionership by Meloni", while the leader of the M5s, Giuseppe Conte, joked about the story, accusing Meloni of inconsistency. “Meloni now announces that he will save you from the Redditometer, but the Meloni government included it in the published decree,” Conte wrote on social media.
On the other side, Brothers of Italy and the deputy minister Maurice Leo they defended the decree, although after the storm, they said they were open to "modifications" after the European elections. The surgery didn't help Ernesto Ruffini, director of the Revenue Agency, who downplayed the importance of the Redditometer, defining it as a residual tool used only in extreme cases to reconstruct the income of total tax evaders. In short, no one supported Deputy Minister Leo's silent move.
