07-07-05
Italian Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said the government should cut taxes on oil and gas to compensate for soaring oil prices.
"Time is ripe to propose measures on energy taxes" in order to deal with the
current economic scenario, Scajola said. He has said in the past that any such
intervention would be difficult to carry out because it must be backed by other
revenue-raising measures.
Italy's high state deficit offers limited leeway for any tax cuts. State Undersecretary Mario Valducci said earlier that a variable tax which goes up when the oil price falls, and goes down when the oil price rises, is an option the government could examine.
Italians are grappling with soaring electricity and gas prices because their
economy is heavily reliant on oil imports. Italy banned nuclear technology in
1987.
The government has already taken steps to put a lid on soaring electricity
prices in June passing an emergency decree that blocked electricity tariffs from
rising in the July-September period.
Source: Dow Jones Newswires