Italy's populists want to bring back Sunday Trade ban

Italy's populist parties League and Five Star Movement are seeking to bring back the Sunday trade ban, which was in force until 2012. In April Parliament started debating a law to restrict trade on Sunday. Five Star Movement advocates shutting the stores for 45 days a year, while League is in favor of some exceptions before Christmas and other holidays.

Bologna's Istituto Cattaneo estimated that the Five Star Movement proposal would cut gross domestic product by 0.5 percentage points, ie by nearly €10 billion and cost almost 150,000 jobs. The Sunday trade ban was abandoned in Italy by Mario Monti in 2012 to stimulate the economy in crisis. “Keeping shops closed on Sunday is like squeezing toothpaste back into the tube,” Davide Rossi, an attorney in Milan, cited by Bloomberg said.

(money.pl)