THREAD
Italy is slipping into the abyss.
Last night a shameful budget law was voted in the lower house. The law was presented at 2pm yesterday and voted after about 12 hours without a parliamentary committee examining it (constitutional violation) 1/
Italy is slipping into the abyss.
Last night a shameful budget law was voted in the lower house. The law was presented at 2pm yesterday and voted after about 12 hours without a parliamentary committee examining it (constitutional violation) 1/
Some highlights: lower retirement age and income of citizenship that will jeopardize public finances in the coming years; 23 billion EUR increase in VAT in 2020 (~ 1.5% ITA GDP) and 29 bln EUR in 2021 if budgetary goals are not met (very likely) 2/
Income taxes to NGOs being doubled (remember the squalid last summer campaign against NGOs who saved migrants in the Mediterranean?); stoppage of inflation indexation of the middle class pensions (1.5k per month); 3/
giveaways to small categories of protected sectors and lobbies (which 5S & Lega had promised to fight), as it has traditionally happened for decades. Meanwhile, growth forecasts look gloomy 4/
In Q4-2018, ITA could officially be in recession. The gvt estimated 1% growth but independent forecasts do not go beyond 0.7% in 2019. This means that the budget situation may worsen and that a new market storm on ITA debt is possible next year. 5/
In conclusion, Italy has no room for maneuver on 2019 accounts (to say the least). Why so? League and M5S want to please their constituencies and maximise votes at EU '19 elections. Classic example of short-sighted politics to the detriment of the country's interest End/.
Upper house*
