The redistribution of a “small part” of the millionaire profits that banks obtain due to the “wrong decisions” of the European Central Bank (ECB) is “an economic and social duty,” said Matteo Salvini, vice president of the Italian government, on Wednesday.
“With the extraordinary tax we want to confirm the rise in salaries and pensions for next year as well,” Salvini said in statements to public radio Rai, a day after the banking sector lost some 9,000 million euros on the stock market due to fears generated . by the new 40% tax on the extraordinary profits of credit institutions announced by surprise last Monday.
The income from this tax “will reach those who have mortgages that increase disproportionately due to the variable rate and will end up in the budget law, within a few weeks, to confirm the lowering of taxes and the increase in wages”, explained the leader of the League, which is part of the government coalition chaired by the far-right Giorgia Meloni.
“The government’s reasoning is that, of the higher profits banks will make this year, compared to last year, simply because of the wrong policies of the ECB, a part will go to help families and confirm salary increases,” he added. .
And, he added, despite the fact that “some bankers have repented, the sector that obtains billions of euros in profits without lifting a finger because of the decisions of others. Distributing a small part is an economic and social duty”.
Salvini recalled that Italian banks “have increased costs for those who have a loan, an overdraft or a mortgage, but they have not increased interest rates for those who have money in their checking accounts.”
The banks “were quick (to adapt to ECB decisions), but they did not increase interest on current accounts. They make billions in profit and Italians pay. As a government, we think that the higher profits resulting from ECB policies wrong to go to homes with mortgages and confirm salary increases and pensions on their payrolls.
And he revealed: “We are thinking of taxing overtime, productivity bonuses.”
The Italian Government approved this Monday the creation of a 40% tax on the extraordinary profits of banks, limited to the years 2022 and 2023, which – it said at the time – cannot exceed 25% of the share capital and whose income will be entirely used to “support mortgage purchases and tax cuts.”
The rule will be activated if the net interest margin registered in 2022 “exceeds the value of the year 2021 by at least 5%”, a percentage that will rise to 10% if 2023 is compared with the previous year, the Government said.
The fear generated among banks and shareholders led the Government to announce, this Tuesday at the end of the day, a maximum limit of 0.1% of total assets, which, according to the specialized press, could mean a payment of 2.5 billion euros by the six largest Italian banks in the first half of 2023.
Source: TSF
