Italy’s Meloni might water down money funds plan after EU talks By Reuters

ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated on Sunday that she might water down plans to make it simpler to settle small funds with money reasonably than playing cards, following talks with the European Fee over the problem.

Meloni’s right-wing authorities has introduced a 2023 price range that scraps fines for retailers who refuse playing cards for funds below 60 euros ($63.23), in a transfer seen as going in opposition to the spirit of commitments taken with the EU.

“Till 60 euros, we want to not drive retailers to simply accept digital funds. However for example that the 60-euro threshold is indicative, for me it may even be decrease,” Meloni stated in a video posted on Fb (NASDAQ:).

“In addition to, there are clearly discussions on this with the European Fee, as a result of the problem of digital funds is likely one of the problems with the [EU recovery plan], so we have now to see, we’ll see how the discussions finish,” she added.

Italy is the largest recipient of the EU’s post-pandemic restoration fund, standing to obtain round 200 billion euros via 2026. However in return, it has to adjust to a collection of reform “targets and milestones.”

Considered one of them, hammered out below the previous administration of Mario Draghi, was the introduction of sanctions for retailers who refuse card funds, as a part of measures to combat tax evasion.

Meloni insisted that making it simpler to pay money was not a backhanded manner of serving to tax dodging – an endemic drawback in Italy, the place greater than 100 billion euros are evaded every year, in line with Treasury knowledge.

She stated the identical about one other controversial proposal from the draft price range, which has but to be accepted by parliament: elevating the cap on money funds to five,000 euros, from a restrict of 1,000 euros that was resulting from kick in on Jan. 1.

($1 = 0.9489 euros)