The 2019 budget plans include 20 billion euros for a basic citizen's wage, lowering the pension age, raising the minimum state pension and a flat income tax among other measures aimed at propelling economic growth in Italy, sources in the far-right League and populist Five-Star Movement party coalition partners said on Thursday.
The budget allocates a total 10 billion euros for the basic citizen's income, seven billion euros for the planned pension reforms, two billion euros for the flat tax and a further billion euros for new hirings in Italy's security forces, according to the sources.
The populist government announced on Wednesday a budget deficit target of 2.4 of economic output for 2019, falling to 2.1 percent of GDP in 2020 and 1.8 percent of GDP in 2021. It lowered the deficit target for 2020 and 2021 after its initial plan to keep the deficit at 2.4 percent for both these years unnerved financial markets and European authorities.
