• Maneuver. Di Maio: "Plastic tax, surreal debate"; Gualtieri: "Call for consistency"
  • The maneuver sent to the Senate by Presidential decree
  • Plastic tax, new Imu, company cars: the nodes of the Maneuver

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04 November 2019The economic maneuver arrives at the Chambers. Today the process of the Budget Law begins in the Senate where, once incardinated in the competent committees, the usual cycle of hearings is scheduled while no mention is made to reduce the controversy and tensions within the government majority.

The Minister of Economy, Roberto Gualtieri, opens a mediation on the plastic tax: "We need to modulate it well and I am ready to discuss with the operators in the sector", he said, reiterating, in this case, in agreement with the leader M5S Luigi Di Maio who the plastic tax "is a fair measure" to protect the environment.

No hypothesis of discussion instead as regards the postponement of the tax wedge cut, asked by Iv: "It is a pillar replied by the Economy Minister.

The Budget Law, worth 30 billion, provides for an intervention of 23 billion to block the increase in VAT and a recourse to the deficit of 16.3 billion in 2020, 12.7 billion in 2021 and 10.5 billion in 2022 Thanks to the new taxes introduced in 2020, a tax increase of over 2 billion is expected. The following year the collection doubled to over 4 billion. The text obtained the 'stamping' of general accounting and the signature of Sergio Mattarella. The corporate car tax will yield 332.6 million, a bonus for 440 thousand babies, the leave for new dads rises from 5 to 7 days. The tightening on the 15% flat rate for VAT payments is 894 million in 2021 and 568 million in 2022.

In the Chamber some measures may be improved, but the balances will remain unchanged. Also because, as Gualtieri pointed out, "it is surprising that a maneuver is approved and then criticized". On the same line as the minister, the secretary of the Democratic Party, Nicola Zingaretti: "If something goes wrong in a unitary spirit, it will be faced as it always has been in the parliamentary process. But we must do it together and together. Stop cunning", he underlined.

The first recipient of the messages is Matteo Renzi. Reduced from not even too veiled attack on the premier Giuseppe Conte, the leader of Italia Viva publishes a post on Facebook: "We are not against anyone. We are only against the increase in taxes".

Di Maio: plastic tax? There are those who think of the vote, those of the future
"The so-called plastic tax is first and foremost a tax that helps Italy convert its production and pollute less. After many years of discussing the effect of plastic in the seas, Italy has decided to start a fast conversion on your production system. Today the debate is whether to start it or lose votes or not. I only say that politicians look to the next elections, the statesmen to the next generations ".

But the tax continues to make people talk. The president of Emilia-Romagna, Stefano Bonaccini, worried about the consequences on 'his' packaging district, the economy minister assured that he will open a table: "I don't know if we can remove all the tax - says Bonaccini - but it can be remodulated, the impact can be reduced ".

The Italia Viva recipe had illustrated it by the deputy Luigi Marattin: "Plastic tax, sugar tax and tax increase on company cars are worth 1.5 billion - he explains - We have three alternative suggestions to abolish them. The first is to postpone the cut of the wedge from July to October. This would already be enough ". Also because, according to Italia Viva, as it is the intervention on the wedge "is a symbolic measure". But Minister Gualtieri's stop came. The word therefore passes to the House.