Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and his cabinet on Saturday agreed on a compromise 2008 budget staving off a growing crisis within his centre-left government, ANSA news agency reported.
The far left of the wide-ranging government had been demanding that taxes on financial earnings be raised from 12 to 20 percent to fund social programmes, while centrists wanted to lower taxes and reduce the deficit in line with eurozone demands.
ANSA said the budget proposal was adopted unanimously, more than 10 hours after the cabinet convened to examine it. "We have taken a decision which is of great importance for the country's development," Prodi said after the meeting.
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