Passed rock of trust and archived the VAT increase (“there is nothing left to do”, ruled the Minister of the Treasury), the next appointment on the Government agenda is the one with the stability Law, which will have to be approved in the coming weeks. The heart of what was once called financial “will be the reduction of the tax wedge for businesses and for workers – Prime Minister Enrico Letta assured yesterday speaking in the Chamber -. There is absolutely a need for a clear signal in the pay slips of Italians. Firms too must receive a signal on the convenience of hiring”.
The main obstacle, as always, is that of sales. Cutting the wedge will probably be financed with a new cut in tax breaks. However, the concerns on the public accounts front are of general scope: the Executive must bring the 2013 deficit back within the limits of 3% (to date, calculations speak of 3,1), to prevent Brussels from opening a new infringement procedure against us. The objective should be achieved thanks to the increase in Ires and Irap advances, as well as yet another increase in excise duties on petrol.
The limits imposed on public finance also put us in doubt the new intervention on the IMU on the first house announced in recent months. The cancellation of the first installment has already been sterilized, but for the second it is very probable that there is nothing to be done. Eliminating the mid-December down payment would cost 2,4 billion: resources that are almost impossible to find if priority is granted when the deficit is reduced. On this front, it is likely that the Government will limit itself to lightening the tax for the weaker classes.
As for the other measures to be included in the Stability law, some expenses are mandatory: 300 million for the redundancy fund by way of derogation, 260 for peace missions, 120 of Imu compensation for Municipalities and 200 for immigration.
Meanwhile, yesterday Letta announced to the Senate that Carlo Cottarelli was chosen as spending review commissioner. Since 2008 Cottarelli has been director of the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund. Graduated in Economics from the University of Siena and the London School of Economics in London, he then entered the Research department of Bank of Italy, where between 1981 and 1987 he worked in the monetary and financial sector division.
