2023-08-08 12:19:16
With our correspondent in Rome, Blandine Hugonnet
This is a surprise measure announced by the government of Giorgia Meloni on August 7, after the last Council of Ministers before the summer break. An exceptional tax will be introduced on the profits made by Italian banks, which have soared in recent months.
The thinking of the far-right executive is simple. The rise in interest rates, decided by the European Central Bank, has enabled the banking sector to inflate its borrowing rates, without passing on its margins to its customers’ accounts and thus filling its coffers. And this, in full inflation. ” Just look at first-half bank earnings […] to realize that it is not a few millions, but billions “, justified the Deputy Prime Minister Matthew Salvini.
Net profits up
For the Italian government, it is therefore time to impose a contribution on them. For banks that post superprofits, Rome plans to tax them up to 40%. It must be said that the two main banks on the peninsula saw their net profits jump by 80% for Intesa Sanpaolo and nearly 4.5 billion euros for Unicredit.
In total, two to three billion euros would be collected by the summer of 2024. This sum will be intended for a reduction in tax burdens and borrowing rates in order to help Italian households and businesses who are suffering from the inflation. It will also be used to ensure the next Italian budget as the country’s GDP declines.
This unexpected tax on banking superprofits is not without consequences and has been causing a soft patch in the financial markets since this morning. The government’s announcement took the industry and analysts by surprise. ” This is unexpected bad news that triggers a negative market reaction “commented the experts of Banca Akros, estimating that the earnings per share of the banks will be cut by 7% on average. On the Milan Stock Exchange, all bank shares fell. Around 1:00 p.m. (11:00 a.m. UT), the first two banks Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit lost 8.6% and 7% respectively. Monte dei Paschi di Siena lost 10.2%, Bper Banca 10% and Banco Bpm 8%.
Also to listenTODAY’S DEBATE – Should superprofits be taxed?
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