ROME, May 15 (Reuters) - Italy's industry minister said
on Monday that a cut in sales tax on baby products has not
produced the expected fall in consumer prices and called for the
country's new inflation committee to hold an urgent meeting on
the matter.
To help families cope with the surge in inflation and
encourage people to have babies, from Jan. 1 Prime Minister
Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government cut sales tax to 5% from
22% on items such as diapers, milk and car booster seats.
However, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said between January
and March the price reduction was only 50% of what was expected,
citing the outcome of a review by the public inflation watchdog.
Italian inflation rose in April to 8.8% year-on-year, driven
by a fresh spike in energy prices. 'Core' inflation, net of
fresh food and energy, was stable at 6.8% year-on-year.
Earlier this month Urso summoned a crisis meeting over the
price of pasta, the country's favourite staple, after it jumped
by more than double the national inflation rate.
That was the first meeting of the new inflation committee,
comprised of public authorities and consumer associations, set
up by the government to monitor unusual price movements.
(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; editing by Gavin Jones)
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