Seemingly unperturbed about courting more controversy, the move comes just weeks after Luigi Carozzi, the Northern League mayor of Pontida, proposed parking permits for pregnant women and young mothers, but only if they were married, straight and from the EU.
This time, in a note about tax reduction to the Lombardy town’s 3,307 residents, he wrote: “The council of Pontida has cut waste disposal tax (Tari), introducing new exempt categories. This time there are no exceptions, such as civil unions between people of the same sex.”
Among the first people to criticise the decision was Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Northern League, who said: “It is not fair, all couples are couples.”
Emanuele Fiano, an MP with the ruling Democratic Party, took to Twitter to say:
“The Northern League heads back towards the Middle Ages in Pontida, the mayor tries again: tax cuts on waste disposal, but not for gay couples.”
Only those who married in a church will enjoy the cuts, meaning straight couples who had civil ceremonies will also be excluded.
Carozzi was forced to take a u-turn on his parking permit proposal following a widespread outcry. The move was supposedly designed to improve accessibility for pregnant women and mothers of young children.
Earlier this month Pontida hosted the Northern League’s annual conference. The town was the place where, in medieval times, a group of cities came together to form a regional alliance called the Lombardy League.