The Italian cabinet approved the 2018 government budget worth 20 billion euros ($23.6 billion) with added measures. The allocation is expected to proceed prior the Senate scheduled on October 20, 2017, as the approval from both chambers are required until the end of December based on the report from Xinhua. Moreover, it will be reassessed by the European Union (EU) Commission. According to Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, the primary concern of the administration is to avoid the increase of value-added tax (VAT) and new taxes. A portion of the budget amounting to 15.7 billion euros ($ 18.4 billion) is needed in order to prevent the effect of safeguard clause for next year. This clause drives the government for VAT hikes along with some indirect taxes in case the expenditure assessment appeared to be low in terms of planned budgetary goals indicated in the EU rules. The key indicator for the national budget is the 50 percent reduction of tax wedge in labour for three years towards companies that offered open-ended contracts for new workers 35 years old and below. It was also confirmed that companies that invest in new machinery have a fiscal break in 2018. The allocation would finance the recruitment of 1,500 new researchers for Italian universities while the renewal of employment contract is approved for laborers under the public sector, by which had been suspended for nearly a decade.
