1 October 2007

Council of Ministers. Finance Bill: stop the debt

Text:
“At the Council of Ministers (Cabinet Meeting) held of Friday 28 September - according to the newspapers - we launched the Finance Bill. This means everything and nothing: the fact is that every year we have to approve the national budget and the related Finance Bill. The budget sets out the State’s sources of income, mainly taxes, and its intended expenditure, that is how the available monies will be spent. The Finance Bill describes how the monies will be used, maybe more maybe less, compared with the budget.
For example, the first heading in the budget is the interest payments the State must make on its borrowings. Believe it or not, we pay 70 billion euro just in servicing our debts. This is not the capital loaned to the State, but the interest payable on those loans, which have built up “thanks” to the policies pursued by the Craxis, Andreottis and Forlanis of the First Republic.
Our first task, then, is to avoid increasing this debt, so as to avoid increasing the related interest payments, which will fall on the younger generation. Every time we take on debt, we ruin the future of the young people who, as taxpayers, will have to work to meet the interest payments.
In last year’s Finance Bill, we paid back all the debts incurred under the Second Republic. We ourselves are not incurring any new debts.
The budget, then, is concerned with pensions, the health service, unavoidable expenditure, schools, etc. This year, we are not looking to raise a further 40 billion, as we were last year, but just 11 billion: this will enable us to avoid increasing taxes, and at the same time to give something back. We have granted local property tax (ICI) relief of 2 billion to the first time buyers buying houses valued at less than 60,000 euro.
Since, this year, we have 7.5 billion in hand, because State income was higher than anticipated, we can devote additional sums to solidarity, development and infrastructure, and international cooperation: we shall be making our contributions to the UN and the EU.
We have managed, then, to allocate this year’s 11 billion and the 7.5 billion remaining from last year without increasing taxes and without incurring further debt. I believe this is proper and honest administration, as one would expect of a “good parent”.
Personally, I would have done some things differently: for example, I would have devoted an extra one billion euro to security. Under the heading “solidarity”, we have allocated two billion to a one-off repayiment of debts, one billion for rents, one billion for local property tax (ICI), a further 800 million to public building projects. All in all, a great deal for solidarity but – on this you have made your opinions clear – man does not live on solidarity alone: you also have to prevent criminals from breaking into your home.
However, I have to admit that, with this coalition, this was the best that could be achieved.
I hope you will now be able to give your opinion, because this Bill has to be discussed in Parliament and can be improved. I want to know what you think of it.
In the next three months, we shall be organising periodic meetings so that, as the Bill passes through Parliament, you can give us your opinion. In Parliament, Italia dei Valori will be able to present your requests, and we will try to ensure that your voice is heard.
We shall make a start next Saturday. From Friday to Sunday, at Vasto, we are holding the Italia dei Valori festival, an opportunity for us politicians to meet all those who want to meet us and hear what we have to say. On Saturday afternoon, at 5 p.m., we shall begin this series of meetings thanks to Second Life, on our Never Land island, where you will be able to speak with us and provide us with information. During the coming months, we shall also be able to continue this thinking process through the blog.
To attend the Vasto event, you don’t need to travel there physically. We shall be streaming the event and you will be able to dialogue with us live, then and over the coming months.
On Saturday, we would have liked to begin these encounters with all the Democratic Party leaders present, but there are some, like Veltroni, who have unexpectedly decided not to come. For future DP leaders to miss a meeting like this is not a good way to consolidate relations with our allies.
We shall put out the chairs nevertheless, and maybe invite some well-prepared young people from civil society up onto the platform. Undoubtedly they will be able to give us some useful advice.

See you on Saturday!”

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Information