Check Credit Score
Check Credit Score
HomeNewsWorld

Italy eyes measures to support auto, tourism industries: PM Giuseppe Conte

Speaking at a conference organised by the UIL trade union, Conte said the government needed to "redefine" tax incentives in favour of green, digital investments of the future, adding "we must support the worst affected industries such as automotive and tourism".

July 04, 2020 / 07:54 PM IST

Italy is considering fiscal measures to spur investments in the auto and tourism industries, two of the sectors that have been hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Saturday.

Speaking at a conference organised by the UIL trade union, Conte said the government needed to "redefine" tax incentives in favour of green, digital investments of the future, adding "we must support the worst affected industries such as automotive and tourism".

The government would start working on a comprehensive tax reform from next week, he said, but did not elaborate.

The automotive industry accounts for 6.2 percent of Italy's gross domestic product, according to data provided by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA).

On Friday the Italian Parliament gave the green light to a package of incentives to encourage sales of state-of-the-art combustion engine cars as well as electric and hybrid vehicles, two lawmakers told Reuters.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

View more
How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

View more
Show

Italy is the world's fifth most visited country, according to United Nations data, and tourism contributes about 13 percent to GDP, according to the World Trade and Tourism Council.

One of the world's worst hit countries with almost 35,000 deaths from COVID-19, Italy ended a rigid lockdown two months ago and has reported fewer than 50 deaths per day for the last two weeks.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.

Reuters

Discover the latest business news, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!

Advisory Alert: It has come to our attention that certain individuals are representing themselves as affiliates of Moneycontrol and soliciting funds on the false promise of assured returns on their investments. We wish to reiterate that Moneycontrol does not solicit funds from investors and neither does it promise any assured returns. In case you are approached by anyone making such claims, please write to us at grievanceofficer@nw18.com or call on 02268882347