Italy to spend around 1.1 bln euros to curb energy costs, draft shows

Italy's cabinet will discuss on Monday measures worth around 1.1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) to help families and firms cope with energy costs in the last quarter of this year, a draft seen by Reuters showed.

Italy's cabinet will discuss on Monday measures worth around 1.1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) to help families and firms cope with energy costs in the last quarter of this year, a draft seen by Reuters showed. The package comes as Italy, like other euro zone countries, is facing pressure from the European Central Bank to speed up the phase-out of expansionary policies adopted since the COVID pandemic in 2020 to step up the fight against inflation.

Among other measures, the government will extend a reduction in sales tax for gas supplies to 5% from the current rates of 10% and 22% from October until December, at a cost of 629 million euros. Some 100 million euros will go to help the poor pay for fuel. The draft decree also includes a tax amnesty to help people who have not correctly issued invoices and receipts, in what would be the 14th tax amnesty adopted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni since she took office last October.

It is still subject to change by the cabinet, which is due to meet from about 1400 GMT. Italy has long suffered from rampant tax evasion and successive governments have pledged crackdowns, but also offered concessions to tax cheats, allowing them to settle disputes through payment of limited sums in a bid to raise revenue quickly and easily.

The cabinet is due to meet again on Sept. 28 to unveil a raft of economic projections in the Treasury's annual Economic and Financial Document. Meloni is preparing to raise the budget deficit goals for this year and next while also cutting GDP growth forecasts, sources have said. ($1 = 0.9408 euros)

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