Italy eyes ways to reduce deficit in 2019 budget - govt source

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini arrives at a place where a young girl was murdered, in Rome, Italy October 24, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi - Copyright ALESSANDRO BIANCHI(Reuters)

By Reuters

Published on 29/10/2018 - 16:34•Updated 26/04/2024 - 00:16

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ROME (Reuters) - If two pillars of the Italian government's 2019 budget should prove less costly than envisaged, the savings may be used to reduce the budget deficit, a government source said on Monday.

An early retirement option and a "citizens' wage" income support scheme have been allocated around 17 billion euros in the budget.

However, the details of these measures, as well as their timing, have not yet been fixed, and some of the funds may not be used if the reforms are not launched until later in year.

Any unused money may be dedicated to lowering the budget deficit below the official target of 2.4 percent of gross domestic product, the source said.

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Gavin Jones; Editing by Crispian Balmer)

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