File photo – Italian Economy and Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti speaks at the G7 High-Level Corporate Governance Roundtable in Niigata on May 11, 2023.Kazuhiro Nogi/Reuters/File Photo Acquisition of license rights
CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) – Italy’s Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Sunday that a new tax on bank profits could be an improvement and dismissed the new tax as unfair.
“While this tax may be inappropriate and there are certainly things that can be improved, it is unacceptable that it is seen as an unfair tax,” Giorgetti told the European Parliament’s Ambrosetti Economic Forum. .
The Italian government delivered a surprise blow to the country’s banks last month by imposing a one-time 40% tax on lender profits from rising interest rates after reprimanding lenders for failing to repay their deposits.
Bank shares fell before the economy ministry said the new tax would amount to just 0.1% of total assets.
A poll conducted by the forum organizers found that about 33% of participants were “extremely negative” about the measures, with two-thirds overall negative.
Giorgetti refuted this view, saying it was a fair tax and that the state gave the banking system many guarantees.
He also apologized for his poor handling of the move, which the deputy prime minister announced as a surprise at a press conference late Monday in August.
“I can assure you that I take full responsibility for the communication error, but in the end it will be something that everyone can appreciate,” Giorgetti said.
Reported by Giselda Vagnoni.Editing: Hugh Lawson and David Evans
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