The EU Commission has sent a letter to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi recommending an acceleration of so-called “reforms” attached to the EU Recovery Fund money. The key measure is an increase of taxation on home property. The EU wants an update of the land registry, in order to adjust property values to market values and thereby raise taxes.
EU Commission Vice President Paolo Gentiloni explained in an interview that inflation is now demanding an end to budget expansion and a return to fiscal discipline. This means implementing the “reforms” demanded by the European Recovery and Resilience Fund.
Lega leader Matteo Salvini has said his party will oppose the measure. “We are able to rule ourselves. I think and hope that in times of pandemic and war, the European Union deals with peace and jobs, without drafting scoreboards or bureaucratic calls. We do not need advice from others.”
“If the EU imposes an increase of home property taxes, they can suck it. For Italians, one’s home is sacred. If somebody in Brussels believes that we should again tax one’s first home, he will be disappointed,” Salvini added.
