© Reuters.
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s industry minister said on Monday that a sales tax cut on baby products had not resulted in an expected drop in consumer prices and called for the country’s new inflation committee to hold an urgent meeting on the matter.
To help families deal with rising inflation and encourage people to have children, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government cut sales tax to 5% from 22% on items such as diapers, milk and car booster seats from January 1.
However, between January and March, the Minister of Industry, Adolfo Urso, said the price cut was only 50% of what was expected, citing the outcome of a review by the public inflation watchdog.
Italian inflation rose in April to 8.8% y/y, driven by a fresh hike in energy prices. The “core” inflation rate, net of fresh food and energy, has held steady at 6.8% year-on-year.
Earlier this month, Urso called a crisis meeting over the price of pasta, the country’s favorite staple, after it jumped by more than double the national inflation rate.
This was the first meeting of the new inflation commission, made up of public authorities and consumer associations, set up by the government to monitor unusual price movements.
