The last idea is the plastic tax. Having discarded the hypothesis of the heavy tax on snacks, as well as that of the "sugar tax" on carbonated drinks - too unpopular because they affected typical consumption of children - only one fiscal arrow remains in the Government's quiver to rake in coverage useful for the Budget law. They call her "packaging tax”, but in reality it would also affect bottles, containers, food packages and any other type of plastic container.
Treasury technicians are evaluating the possibility of introducing a levy of 0,2 euro per kg. Something similar to a new excise duty, which would weigh on the production as well as on the import of plastic.
The measure may have a positive environmental impact, prompting producers and consumers to reduce the use of plastic. However, there is also the risk that the burden, by being transferred to the final prices, will turn into a new ballast for consumption. In that case, beyond the benefit for public coffers, there would be a recessive effect on the real economy.
This too is discussed in Via XX Settembre and Palazzo Chigi, where the discussion has just begun. Discussions within the majority and the government are still open and the process leading to the final draft of the maneuver and related tax decree will still take several weeks.
The hottest chapter on which agreement is still lacking is the blocking of VAT increases. A generalized stop would cost 23,1 billion and effectively prevent the Government from launching other significant measures. Therefore, the idea of allowing the tax increase on individual products (for example some luxury goods) to free up resources to invest in supporting lower incomes is making headway.
Support that would result in always a reduction of the VAT on a particularly sensitive front: that of electricity and gas bills. There is talk of a reduction in the rate on domestic use from 10 to 8%, in order to defuse the recent increases. However, Renzi and Di Maio have already said they don't agree with selective VAT increases either.
Moreover, all of this would not be enough to implement even a cut in the tax wedge and a plan of measures for the environment, not even assuming an increase in the deficit-GDP ratio to 2,2/2,3%, from 1,6, XNUMX% currently expected. More covers are needed. Some may come from closing some windows - currently quarterly for employees and half-yearly for the self-employed - which allow access to the pension with a quota of 100.
The most significant slice, however, should be connected to the cut in tax expenditures, concessions in the form of deductions and deductions, which generate less revenue for the public coffers of over 75 billion a year. The government aims to recover at least five, without touching the bonuses for the lowest incomes. A very complicated job, announced several times in the last decades but so far never realized with significant results.
Finally, the chapter of fight against evasion. The Government is thinking about a card, managed by the Italian Post Office, to be used for electronic payments and to receive any bonuses and incentives provided for those who pay with electronic money. It would also serve as an identity card and health card.
