Premier Giorgia Meloni said Wednesday
that her government was ready to make any necessary changes to
the so-called 'income-meter' (redditometro) after a decree
brought back the controversial measure enabling the authorities
to check people's spending to see if it is compatible with their
declared incomes.
The decree, which was signed by Deputy Economy Minister Maurizio
Leo of Meloni's rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party,
reintroduces a measure brought in under ex-premier Matteo
Renzi's centre-left government in 2015 and suspended in 2018.
Leo stressed that the new measure was very different from the
original 'income-meter', saying the decree put limits on the tax
authorities' ability to dispute alleged incongruities between
people's declared earnings and their expenditure on cars, homes,
boats and travel etc.
Nevertheless, the other two parties in Meloni's ruling
coalition, Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Matteo
Salvini's right-wing League and Deputy Premier and Foreign
Minister Antonio Tajani's centre-right Forza Italia, both
expressed unhappiness at the move.
Meloni said that she would talk about the issue to Leo and had
asked him to report to the cabinet on it.
"If changes are necessary, I will be the first to ask for them,"
she said.
"This government will never bring in a 'Big Brother' tax regime.
"I have always been against invasive income-meter mechanisms
being applied to ordinary people".
While in opposition in 2019, Meloni had already railed against
"this Big Brother measure snooping on Italian citizens' private
lives".
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