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Italy budget will include basic income, lower retirement

Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Wednesday Italy's 2019 budget would include a basic income for the poor and allow people to retire earlier, meeting demands from the ruling coalition parties.

Tria told a retail association conference the so-called "citizens' income" would help manage the social consequences of technological change, and said allowing people to retire earlier would give firms a younger, more skilled workforce.

The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which governs with the right-wing League, threatened on Tuesday not to vote for the budget unless it included the citizens' income and a lower retirement age, along with other measures.

On Thursday the government will present its economic and financial targets that underpin the budget, which must be approved by the cabinet and presented to Brussels in mid-October.

Financial markets are banking on Tria, a former academic who is not affiliated to either party, to keep a lid on public finances and to water down some of the big-spending plans of the coalition that took office in June.

Italy's public debt, at around 131 percent of national output, is the highest in the euro zone after Greece's.

In his speech Tria tried to strike a balance between promising a growth-friendly, expansionary package while maintaining the confidence of markets and avoiding a head-on clash with the European Commission.

"We are working on a mix of policies that show everyone they should have confidence in Italy, not only in our public finances but in our economic growth," he said.

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Italy budget will include basic income, lower retirement

Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Wednesday Italy's 2019 budget would include a basic income for the poor and allow people to retire earlier, meeting demands from the ruling coalition parties.

Tria told a retail association conference the so-called "citizens' income" would help manage the social consequences of technological change, and said allowing people to retire earlier would give firms a younger, more skilled workforce.

The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which governs with the right-wing League, threatened on Tuesday not to vote for the budget unless it included the citizens' income and a lower retirement age, along with other measures.

On Thursday the government will present its economic and financial targets that underpin the budget, which must be approved by the cabinet and presented to Brussels in mid-October.

Financial markets are banking on Tria, a former academic who is not affiliated to either party, to keep a lid on public finances and to water down some of the big-spending plans of the coalition that took office in June.

Italy's public debt, at around 131 percent of national output, is the highest in the euro zone after Greece's.

In his speech Tria tried to strike a balance between promising a growth-friendly, expansionary package while maintaining the confidence of markets and avoiding a head-on clash with the European Commission.

"We are working on a mix of policies that show everyone they should have confidence in Italy, not only in our public finances but in our economic growth," he said.

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