ROME, March 23 (Reuters) - Italy is preparing a new
package of measures worth at least 5 billion euros ($5.5
billion) to help businesses and families cope with costly energy
bills and plans to unveil it next week, two government sources
told Reuters on Thursday.
The right-wing administration led by Prime Minister Giorgia
Meloni earmarked over 21 billion euros in its 2023 budget to
soften the impact of energy costs on the euro zone's third
largest economy in the first quarter of this year.
Rome now wants to extend and review these measures in a
decree expected to be approved by the cabinet on March 28, the
sources said, asking not to be named.
The Treasury plans to fund the decree through savings
stemming from the previous 21 billion euro package so as not to
weigh on the public deficit, one of the sources said.
Italy last November set a budget deficit goal of 4.5% of
gross domestic product (GDP), down from 8% reported in 2022.
The Treasury is due to update in April its growth forecasts
and public finance targets in the Economic and Financial
Document (DEF).
Last month a Treasury official told Reuters Italy expected
that a recent European Union agency Eurostat's ruling on the
treatment of tax credits to have a small negative impact on its
2023 deficit.
($1 = 0.9170 euros)
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte
Editing by Keith Weir)
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