Measures to avoid layoffs as well as to help struggling sectors such as tourism could not wait until September, when the government would present a comprehensive plan to relaunch the economy after the coronavirus crisis, he said.
“A further increase in the budget deficit is likely,” Conte told a press conference.
He said the government was worried about weak consumer spending and had discussed a possible sales tax reduction, but no decision had been taken on such a costly measure.
The government was working instead to reduce the gap between a worker’s gross and net salary, commonly known as the “tax wedge”, he said.
Conte said a single ultra-fast broadband network, a push towards digital payments and the transition to renewable energy sources would be the planks of the September plan.
