Italy approves $36 billion budget to boost growth

Bloomberg

Mario Draghi’s government has won lawmakers’ support for a 32 billion-euro ($36 billion) budget plan for 2022 aimed at supporting Italy’s growth.
The bill was approved with a confidence vote in parliament in Rome, and will face a final formal vote.
The spending plan — the first drafted by the executive led by the former European Central Bank chief — allocates about 8 billion euros to cut income taxes for companies and individuals and budgets budgets almost 4 billion euros to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices.
It refinances social measures introduced by previous administrations including a form of citizen income, a bonus for green house renovations and incentives for families with children.
It also enacts measures which were put off by earlier governments, including a cut in the value added tax for tampons and funds to help young people rent a home.
The expansionary budget is part of Draghi’s plan to support Italy’s chronically low economic growth rate as the country continues to battle the impact of the pandemic. The government expects output to grow more than 6% this year, after an almost 9% decline in 2020.
The spread of the Omicron variant and a record number of Covid-19 cases reported in the country are already impacting economic activity, with holiday cancellations worth about 4 billion euros, according to consumer association Coldiretti.
Draghi said earlier this month he didn’t expect the new virus strain to affect the 2021 growth forecast.

Italy Eases Covid-19 Isolation Rules
Italy has eased coronavirus quarantine rules and imposed a vaccine mandate for most activities in a bid to keep essential services running, after the country recorded a record number of cases for consecutive days.
Mario Draghi’s government has lifted its quarantine requirement completely for people who come into contact with a Covid-19 case as long as they have had three vaccine doses, according to a statement. Isolation time will also be cut to five days — from seven — for vaccinated people whose most recent dose was more than 120 days before
exposure, it said.
The government has also agreed to extend from Jan. 10 the use of a so-called ‘super Covid pass’ for most activities, including taking local transportation and outdoor dining.
The revised rules are set to come into force as Italy faces a surge in virus cases that’s threatening to disrupt essential services. There were 98,030 confirmed cases on Wednesday, up from 78,313 a day earlier, fueled by the fast-spreading omicron variant.
Initial studies on the variant suggesting it’s milder than other strains — especially for people who have received three vaccine doses — have increased pressure on Italian public health officials to ease their stance on isolation. Other countries have taken similar steps to prevent staff shortages that would disrupt healthcare and education.
In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that anyone who has Covid can leave isolation after five days if they are no longer experiencing symptoms, cutting the recommended period in half.