Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday
defended two flagship budget measures accused by the Bank of
Italy and others of potentially favouring tax evasion: enabling
retailers to refuse to accept card payments for amounts of up to
60 euros in order to stop them having to pay commissions on
small payments that make the transactions less worthwhile to
them; and raising the limit for cash payments from 2,000 euros
to 5,000.
Previously Meloni had said the controversial measure in the
government's 2023 budget bill that would enable retailers to
refuse to accept card payments for amounts up to 60 euros could
be changed.
She had also said there might be some wiggle room on the new
5,000 euro cash payment ceiling.
But on Wednesday the premier reportedly told majority whips she
was proud of the two measures, which she said "made sense".
Meloni remarked that commission costs on card payments are borne
by retailers and not by the citizens who use the service.
If they were borne by citizens, she told the whips, "I think
that no one would pay for a coffee with their card".
The 60-euro threshold for electronic payments, she also
explained, could be put to further debate at an EU level and not
an Italian one.
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