(see related)
Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti
on Wednesday presented the 2025 budget bill that the cabinet
approved on Tuesday, stressing that it only imposed sacrifices
on banks and insurance companies.
Giorgetti's use of the term "sacrifices" in relation to the
budget had caused controversy in the run-up to the package being
approved.
In the budget, banks, which have enjoyed high profits in recent
years thanks to the ECB putting up interest rates, and insurance
companies have been called on to make a 3.5-billion-euro
contribution, which will to go the national health system.
"There is a significant intervention regarding banks and
insurance companies," Giorgetti told a press conference at the
premier's office in Rome.
"Some call it a tax on surplus profits, some call it a
contribution.
"I call it a sacrifice and I hope you have understood what I
meant when I used this term, which has been abused in recent
weeks.
"I understand the opposition and I feel sorry for them, now that
it has become clear to all the Italian people (what I meant)".
He said that the package features "an innovative incentive
mechanism" to encourage workers who have reached the retirement
age to "remain in service on a voluntary basis" via "a
significant incentive on the tax front".
He said it also includes a cap in the salaries of the top
officials of all public bodies and entitles that receive public
money.
He said the budget maintains cuts in the labour-tax wedge for
people earning up to 35,000 euros that the government made in
its 2023 budget law.
He added that there will also be benefits for people earning
between 35,000 and 40,000 euros a year in the new package.
"Our number one attention is on medium-low earners, whose
situation will be better than before," Giorgetti said.
"No one will have new taxes".
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