The Government accelerates on the budget law and returns to deal with the coverage to be found to finance the announced measures, namely the cut in personal income tax, the flat tax for young people and the healthcare interventions.
Among the hypotheses being examined by the Ministry of Economy is a new contribution to be paid by banks and insurance companies, with a target of between 2 and 3 billion euros. The debate, it must be clarified, is not about extra profits. The comparison with the sector is open, but the road seems to be uphill. Also due to the divisions within the majority.
Maneuver, what happens to the banks
The president of the ABI, Antonio Patuelli, stops the hypothesis of a new contribution by recalling the three-year agreement already signed with the Government, which provides for contributions of 10.5 billion euros.
The first year of the agreement saw the contribution of 4.4 billion euros from banks and insurance companies.
Within the majority, there is a tug of war between the two deputy prime ministers with the Northern League member Matteo Salvini pushing for a more substantial request to credit institutions, while the Italian Antonio Tajani declares himself against new taxes on banks.
Meanwhile, time is running out: the budget plan is expected on Tuesday 13 October, to be sent to the European Commission.
Maneuver, how much banks and insurance companies can pay
The figure cited to be recovered from the banks (between 2 and 3 billion) for the Budget envisages different technical hypotheses which mainly concern the tax treatment of some components of the balance sheets of credit institutions and insurance companies. Among the instruments evaluated are interventions on DTAs (acronym for Deferred Tax Assets), i.e. deferred tax assets that can translate into future tax benefits.
There are also possible changes on the table to the treatment of goodwill, the valuation of financial instruments according to the international accounting standard Ifrs 9 and the write-down of receivables. Attention also extends to insurance starts. The actual amounts and the distribution of any contribution are still to be defined.
Deputy Minister of Economy Maurizio Leo confirmed that discussions have begun:
We don’t want to slap anyone. The dialogue is always open, as there was last year, let’s try to do it this year too.
Energy, the Government seeks resources
And the discussion on coverage could also extend to energy companies. In this case, however, the topic is intertwined with the discussion on the cap on fuel prices.
The president of Unem, Gianni Murano, warned. This is what he declared, as reported Il Sole 24 Ore:
Extra profits? All the resources that are taken away from investments in the sector will create problems tomorrow.
At the moment, there are no definitive figures to be attributed to the companies in the sector.
Municipalities and Healthcare
Among those asking for attention are the Italian Municipalities, which through the ANCI are asking for 1 billion euros for various needs, including assistance to unaccompanied foreign minors, support for pupils with disabilities, payment of bills and a hiring plan for 12,000 local police personnel.
And healthcare is also putting pressure on the Government: in recent days the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci indicated an additional 5.5 billion euros as the minimum sum necessary for the sector.
