Italy to raise roughly 4 billion euros from banks, insurers and gaming
8:13 am Wednesday, October 16th, 2024
ROME (Reuters) -Italy plans to raise roughly 4 billion euros ($4.35 billion) in 2025 from changes in tax rules for banks, insurance products and business licences for gaming, Rome’s draft budgetary plan (DBP) showed on Wednesday.
The document, sent to the European Commission for approval, estimates higher revenues amounting to 0.168% of GDP as a contribution to consolidating public finances.
Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti told reporters on Wednesday that banks and insurers would contribute to the state finances with “more than 3.5 billion euros” next year.
“I think the affair has been interiorized by the markets, so it goes as it should. The fishermen and workers will be happy after this budget, a little less so the banks,” Giorgetti said.
His deputy Maurizio Leo said the budget would be frozen for the next two years deductions related to banks’ tax credits stemming from past losses, known as deferred tax assets, in a move that would temporarily hike taxation on profits.
The Treasury expects to collect 1 billion euros from insurers by changing the payment terms of stamp duties due for some insurance policies.
Rome also changed taxation of stock options for managers. “We defer the deduction to the time when there is actual allocation of the shares,” Leo said.
The DBP said revenues from banks, insurance products and gaming would fall by 0.073% of GDP in 2026 and by 0.096% the following year.
Italy last year shocked markets by imposing a 40% tax on banks’ windfall profits, only to backtrack by limiting the scope of the levy and giving lenders an opt-out clause which meant that in the end it raised zero for state coffers.
($1 = 0.9190 euros)
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, editing by Gavin Jones and Ed Osmond)
