Italy's cabinet passes 2023 budget worth 35 bln euros

ROME, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Italy's cabinet passed the new budget law early on Tuesday, planning measures worth some 35 billion euros (35.8 billion U.S. dollars) for 2023.

The new budget included a package aimed at alleviating skyrocketing energy costs for companies and households, as well as tax cuts for employees and self-employed workers.

Overall, it included measures worth some 21 billion euros (21.5 billion dollars) to help companies and families face electricity and gas bills next year, the cabinet said in a statement.

The budget also introduced a cut in the so-called "tax-wedge," namely the difference between the money an employer pays as a salary and the actual amount a worker gets.

Another fiscal measure would extend a 15 percent income tax scheme for the self-employed to annual income of up to 85,000 euros (87,202 dollars), compared with the current ceiling of 65,000 euros (66,684 dollars), the cabinet said.

The law was approved in the early hours of Tuesday and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was expected to unveil other key measures in detail at a press conference scheduled for 10 a.m. (0900 GMT) on Tuesday.

The budget will have to pass both chambers of parliament before being sent by year-end to European Union (EU) authorities, which are in charge of assessing EU countries' national budgets to check if they comply with EU fiscal rules.