Italian banks hit out at Giorgia Meloni over latest tax raid

{"text":[[{"start":10.36,"text":"Italian banks have lambasted Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s plan to hit lenders with €7bn in additional taxes over the next three years, warning that repeatedly squeezing financial institutions for more money ran counter to “economic rationality”."}],[{"start":26,"text":"Testifying in parliament on Tuesday on Italy’s draft 2027 budget, Marco Elio Rottigni, director-general of the Italian Banking Association, complained that lenders had already been hit by €15bn in additional taxes in the past two years — a cumulative burden that he said could undermine economic growth."}],[{"start":45.28,"text":"The succession of new taxes targeting banks, he said, raised “serious doubts about constitutionality and economic rationality” and added that “profitability, liquidity and, in some cases, the regulatory capital of banks” would all be affected."}],[{"start":61.08,"text":"The Meloni government’s latest squeeze on financial institutions comes as it is trying to cut taxes for voters while keeping the deficit in check in its last budget before next year’s general elections."}],[{"start":71.84,"text":"“The capital strength of the banking sector is a resource for the entire economy,” Rottigni said, saying lenders require “an enhanced capacity for investment” to cope with current geopolitical uncertainty and technological transformations."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":86,"text":"The clash comes as Italian banks are confronting an unprecedented wave of consolidation, with more than 12 merger attempts over the past two years, including a proposal on Monday by France’s Crédit Agricole to combine its Italian operations and Banco BPM. Rome has also successfully returned Monte dei Paschi di Siena to private hands after its 2017 bailout, with the bank now being the target of a hostile takeover by Intesa Sanpaolo, the country’s largest bank."}],[{"start":115.24,"text":"Meloni’s government has had the banking sector in its sights as a source of revenue since summer 2023 when a clumsy, late-night announcement of a 40 per cent tax on banks’ “windfall profits” sent lenders’ shares tumbling 10 per cent the next morning."}],[{"start":128.8,"text":"Amid the market turmoil — and sharp warnings from the European Central Bank — Meloni’s government drastically watered down the plan, with banks allowed to use the levy to reinforce their underlying capital bases instead."}],[{"start":140.68,"text":"But in its past two budgets Rome, which is wrestling with one of Europe’s highest debt burdens and pressure to cut its deficit, has found new means to raise taxes on financial institutions."}],[{"start":152.56,"text":"With its latest proposals Rome aims to raise €5bn in 2027 and a total of €11bn over the next three years to 2029 from banks and insurance companies by raising their corporate income tax rates — compared with the standard rate of 24 per cent — and by doubling the tax rate on financial transactions."}],[{"start":173.52,"text":"Meloni’s government had previously levied a 3.5 per cent surcharge on banks’ profits, raising their corporation tax rate to 27.5 per cent, but now aims to increase it further to 30.5 per cent. Insurers would see their corporate tax rate rise to 27 per cent."}],[{"start":190.26,"text":"Under the plan, certain tax deductions would also be restricted and tax credits would be treated differently."}],[{"start":196.4,"text":"Calling for “a profound rethinking”, Rottigni said Meloni’s three-party coalition must “avoid a series of fiscal measures targeting banks that would curtail the resources available to them to fulfil their fundamental role of supporting the broader economy”, adding that details of the latest tax plans conflict with “principles of reasonableness and proportionality”."}],[{"start":216.88,"text":"Italian banks’ annual profits have increased more than 86 per cent since Meloni took office in 2022, rising from a yearly €25.5bn in 2022 to a record €47.5bn in 2025, according to FABI, the trade union for finance workers. The biggest single jump came in 2023, after rises in interest rates by the European Central Bank boosted lenders’ net income."}],[{"start":243.4,"text":"Over the four years, Italian banks have generated approximately €160.2bn in cumulative net profits."}],[{"start":255.48,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1794356126_1632.mp3"}