The maneuver will require “sacrifices from everyone”, because restoring public finances as the EU asks us to do is an effort that individuals, public administration, large and small companies will have to support.
Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has no discounts in mind for anyone as he talks, in an interview with Bloomberg, about the finalization of the next budget.
But the mere idea of taxing the profits of companies in the sectors that have benefited most from a favorable market context causes the Milan Stock Exchange to slide, closing at -1.5%, the worst in Europe.
Even lower than the 1.32 in Paris which slipped following the announcement of an “exceptional tax” on businesses and the richest taxpayers hypothesized by Michel Barnier’s government.
Minister Giorgetti immediately clarifies that this time “there will not be a repeat of the discussion on banks’ extra profits” that took place last year. First of all, extra profits “is an incorrect term.” We must talk about “taxing the right profits, profits”, calculated “correctly”.
The idea of a voluntary payment is unrealistic: “Companies do not give to charity, voluntary contributions do not exist”, explains Giorgetti, recalling “the North Star”, i.e. Article 53 of the Constitution according to which “everyone is required to contribute to public expenses based on their ability to pay”. From the Mef, they then explain that an effort will be asked of the larger companies that operate in certain sectors in which profits have benefited from favorable external conditions. A discussion is underway regarding the methods of their contribution.
“No new taxes”, is however made clear, also because some fibrillation comes from within the majority with the Fi spokesperson, Raffaele Nevi, who strongly supports: “Forza Italia has always been and remains against raising taxation in Italy “. The sectors affected by the ‘effort’? The tom tam talks about banks, insurance, defense and energy. Which in fact suffer on the stock market. On defence, the minister makes a reference, giving an example, during the interview: “paradoxically one could say that with all these wars those who produce weapons are doing particularly well and also in this case there is a favorable market situation”. But ‘everyone’ must contribute. Smaller companies, for example, are already interested in the Concordat and “must accept the idea that they have to declare more” than in the past to comply, explains the minister.
It does not mean new taxes, the undersecretary of the Mef Federico Freni also insists. “They are not part of the DNA of this government, we said it two years ago and we repeat it, let’s avoid jokes”, he specifies speaking of the recovery process in which Italy is engaged with the EU. For example, growth for this year – reiterates Giorgetti – should be confirmed at 1%, “or a result very very close to that target”, as forecast. And the public finance data – he adds – “will be better for this year” than we communicated to the markets and the Commission”, given that the deficit target of 4.4% “seemed unrealistic and has now been updated to 3%. .8%, almost unique in the European context”. “We are demonstrating that we not only respect” what has been said “but we do better”, so we must remain credible by continuing with a “prudent and responsible” attitude, claims Giorgetti. This is why that to finance the maneuver it will be necessary to find resources from “the entire country system”, that is, “private individuals, companies and above all the PA which will be called upon to be more performing and productive”.
and banks, which with growing budgets will in any case give more flow to state revenues, are already preparing for the new effort, but it is clear that the confrontation is not over yet. For the CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, Carlo Messina, “there may be some ways in which to contribute to the public debt situation without having impacts on company accounts” such as “working on deferred tax assets, providing cash flows to the public sector ” but also making resources available to the weakest groups or “increasing the wages of people who work” within companies that are generating “significant profits”.
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