Italy may extend fuel excise tax cut - Meloni seeks softer budget rules from the EU
Italy may extend beyond May 1 a cut in excise taxes on fuel as part of efforts to help families and businesses cope with rising energy prices, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, while also calling for softer budget rules from the EU.
"We are evaluating a further extension, which could be shorter than the previous ones," Meloni said. The prime minister also said her government had allocated nearly 1 billion euros to extend and reinforce several tax breaks designed to encourage employers to hire staff.
Italy has so far spent about 700 million euros to cut excise taxes on gasoline and diesel for just over 40 days, until May 1. Meloni said the new cut under discussion could have a bigger impact on diesel than on gasoline. Heavily dependent on imported energy, Italy is particularly vulnerable to supply disruptions caused by the US/Israeli conflict with Iran.
Meloni called on the European Commission to allow member states to mitigate energy costs by using budgetary freedom, which is expressly provided for defense and security spending.
Under the so-called "National Rescue Clause," the EU allows countries to exceed the bloc's budget deficit limits in the event of extremely adverse economic circumstances, or to increase their defense spending.
In the case of defense spending, budgetary flexibility is available for four years between 2025 and 2028, with an increase in the deficit not to exceed 1.5% of national output per year.
Italy last year planned to increase its defense spending by 0.15 percentage points of GDP this year and next, and by 0.2 percentage points in 2028. Underlining that the 0.15% increase would be worth 3.7 billion euros, Meloni said that containing energy prices was a "top priority" for her government.
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