Because the tax collector against the banks reeks of leftism
The Meloni government beats the banks to demonstrate to the voters that it knows how to bring the "powers that be" into line. As long as they are not taxi drivers or bathing establishments. The comment by Mario Seminerio, curator of the blog Phastidio
Surprisingly, the council of ministers of August 7, which was supposed to dismiss the usual summer omnibus decree, this year baptized "Asset and investments", perhaps in homage to the newfound linguistic nationalism which prescribes using Dante's language whenever possible , produced an extraordinary levy on Italian banks and on their interest margin, the difference between interest received on loans and that paid on current accounts and deposits.
The measure was not in the drafts that usually circulate copious before each council, even if it takes up the threat that the Minister of Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, made to the banks since last spring: increase the remuneration on current accounts, or we will tax you. And so it was also, if bizarrely, Giorgetti was not present at the press conference after the CDM (not even the premier, but this often happens to her) and the measure was presented with great satisfaction by deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, for a moment back in his shoes of the beginning of the career of the "communist from the Po Valley": Fratoianni, take it and take it home.
THE INTEREST MARGIN HIT
But what is the measure? It seems to understand, in a levy of 40% that will be triggered if the interest margin recorded in 2022 "exceeds the value of 2021 by at least 3%". Percentage which rises to 6% when comparing 2023 with 2022. This tax does not may exceed 25% of the banks' net assets. By eye, this is a levy on the interest margin, and is very reminiscent of the measure taken by the left-wing Spanish government of Pedro Sanchez , which applied a rate of 4.8% to the intermediation margin (net interest and net commissions ) exceeding 800 million euros. Spanish banks have challenged the measure.
Curiously, the measure appears very similar to the bill presented last month by the exponent of the Democratic Party Andrea Orlando and which aims to make "redistribution", above all for the benefit of those with variable rate mortgages. Meloni, Sanchez, Orlando: an interesting triad.
With regard to the revenue, and it being understood that the provision will have the usual conversion process during which it can be modified, the first estimates, based on the literalness of the text released by the CDM, fluctuate around 2.5-3 billion euros. To do what? Salvini, at the press conference, spoke very generally of "help for first home mortgages taken out at different times from the current ones, and tax cuts". Vast programmes .
Interpretations abound: which mortgages? Those for under 35s with Isee not exceeding 40 thousand euros? Others? We'll see. As for the "tax cut", whatever that means, doing it as a one-off measure is obviously idiocy, but so be it. Perhaps this very uncertain revenue will contribute to the desperate attempt to rake in money to extend the tax relief for work incomes of less than 35,000 gross per annum also in 2024. Or to help finance the legendary "first module" of the tax reform, or the tax relief of thirteenths.
DESPERATELY WANTED MONEY
What seems evident is that there are measures that reek of desperation a kilometer away, and this is one of them. Last May 19, commenting on Giorgetti's "threat" to the banks, I concluded as follows :
Unless the government is looking for the populist casus belli to proceed with an extraordinary levy on bank profits, with which to make impromptu redistribution and displace the political and trade union left.
Mission accomplished. How well I know my chickens, right? As for the banks and their union, displaced by a measure that they thought had been archived under the heading "gross moral suasion ", they will appeal in every jurisdictional seat (up through the branches up to the Consulta), they will say that the measure strangles the granting of credit just when the same is in sharp decline, they will reduce the interest margin and increase commissions; at most they will send word to the unions that the renewal of the contract is at risk in the terms that seemed to take shape, etcetera etcetera.
In the end, the revenue will be laughable, the side effects much less but the media noise guaranteed.
(Excerpt from an article published on Phastidio; here the complete version)
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/governo-meloni-tassa-banche-sinistra/ on Tue, 08 Aug 2023 12:03:54 +0000.