By Giuseppe Fonte
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s government plans to set aside at least 8 billion euros ($9.33 billion) in its 2022 budget to cut income taxes, two sources close to the matter said.
The move is intended to benefit employees by reducing the so-called tax wedge, the difference between the salary an employer pays and what a worker takes home, which is particularly high in Italy.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said earlier this year that the tax wedge in Italy was estimated at 46% in 2020, the fifth-highest out of a group of 37 advanced nations.
The fiscal burden on employees is a chronic weakness of the Italian labour market, economists say, penalising the competitiveness of the country’s production system.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government will unveil later on Tuesday its draft budget, which will outline additional expansionary measures worth more than 22 billion euros, including the cut in income taxes.
These measures are aimed at boosting Italy’s growth next year to 4.7% from 4.2% under an unchanged policy scenario, the Treasury said last month.
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Crispian Balmer)
