ROME--The European Commission Wednesday urged Italy to keep its
budget deficit below 3.0% of gross domestic product in 2013, as it announced
that Rome would be released from the European Union's Excessive Deficit
Procedure.
In an important addition, the Commission also recommended that Italy make budget-neutral efforts to shift the tax burden away from labor and business to consumption, property and the environment. It even noted that a property tax on primary residences that was temporarily suspended by the new government would need to be paid in full if the legislature can't agree on an overhaul of the national real estate taxation system.
The Commission also recommended that Italy bolster provision of child-care service and even tweak the tax code so that second earners, someone other than the main earner in a household, aren't discouraged from seeking employment.
It also urged Italy to find a solution for the non-performing loans on banks' balance sheets, as well as to further promote the development of capital markets--especially for equity--to help local companies access finance.
The recommendations, like the decision to allow Italy to exit the Excessive Deficit Procedure, will be voted on at a future date but the Commission's decisions are typically approved.
Dow Jones Newswires
May 29, 2013 08:59 ET (12:59 GMT)
In an important addition, the Commission also recommended that Italy make budget-neutral efforts to shift the tax burden away from labor and business to consumption, property and the environment. It even noted that a property tax on primary residences that was temporarily suspended by the new government would need to be paid in full if the legislature can't agree on an overhaul of the national real estate taxation system.
The Commission also recommended that Italy bolster provision of child-care service and even tweak the tax code so that second earners, someone other than the main earner in a household, aren't discouraged from seeking employment.
It also urged Italy to find a solution for the non-performing loans on banks' balance sheets, as well as to further promote the development of capital markets--especially for equity--to help local companies access finance.
The recommendations, like the decision to allow Italy to exit the Excessive Deficit Procedure, will be voted on at a future date but the Commission's decisions are typically approved.
Dow Jones Newswires
May 29, 2013 08:59 ET (12:59 GMT)
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