Italy Adopts Plan To Cut 24 Bn Euros From Budget

ROME, July 30 (AFP) - The Italian cabinet late Thursday adopted a plan to cut 24 billion euros from the budget for 2005 under a four-year Economic and Financial Programming Document (EFPD) covering 2005-2008.
Among the measures foreseen to boost the state's empty coffers are tolls on roads belonging to the public Anas network, higher taxes on tobacco and fuel, and a new tax amnesty, the Italian press said.
The measures are indispensable to keep the public deficit beneath three percent of GDP, in line with the EU stability pact.
According to EFPD projections, Italy's public account deficit would reach 4.4 percent of GDP in 2005 without this plan, made up of 17 billion euros in savings and seven billion euros in gains. With the adoption of the plan the shortfall would come to 2.7 percent of GDP.