With 450 yes, 107 abstentions and no votes against, the Chamber of Deputies approved the first reading of the decree that unblocks the payment of public administration debts to businesses. The 40 billion euro provision over two years is now being examined by the Senate for the second reading and must be converted into law by June 7, on pain of forfeiture.
Over three quarters of the forty billion allocated by the decree are reimbursements of pending invoices in the strict sense. The remaining portion is divided into tax refunds, offsets with registered tax debts and European co-financing.
In recent days, the coverage of the so-called Vertical Stability Pact has generated strong controversy: the faculty given to the Regions to transfer resources to municipalities and provinces to guarantee essential services such as schools, road maintenance and local public transport.
Instead, the introduction of a tax on electronic cigarettes has been skipped, while the government and deputies have introduced micro-cuts since 2015, including eight per thousand and funds for publishing. The Undersecretary for Relations with Parliament, Giovanni Legnini, guaranteed the restoration of the funds with the next Stability Law.
