{"text":[[{"start":15.83,"text":"Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government aims to collect €11bn from banks and insurance companies over three years to fund tax cuts and social spending, a drive that could potentially set up a showdown with lenders."}],[{"start":33.36,"text":"The plan, which would involve raising more than €4bn from lenders and insurers next year, was included in a medium-term budget projection that Rome sent to the EU and published on Thursday."}],[{"start":48.69,"text":"With Italy’s next general election scheduled for 2027, Meloni’s right-wing coalition is eager to strengthen social services and cut taxes to boost the purchasing power of low- and middle-income families that have been squeezed by inflation over the past several years."}],[{"start":69.77,"text":"The government said this week it intended to cut the income tax rate for workers who earn between €28,000 and €50,000 from the current rate of 35 per cent to 33 per cent at an estimated cost of €9bn over three years."}],[{"start":89.05,"text":"But to keep the EU happy, Rome must ensure its deficit does not exceed the bloc’s 3 per cent threshold, prompting the hunt for sources to fund its plans."}],[{"start":101.64,"text":"“Meloni does not have any animosity towards banks at all, but we realise that in order to implement certain measures, more revenue is needed,” Marco Osnato, a Parliament member from Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, recently told the Financial Times. “Obviously, you take the money where you can find it.”"}],[{"start":123.22,"text":"Osnato, who chairs the Parliament’s finance committee, said banks had made “remarkable profits” of late and should negotiate with the government to “find solutions for the sake of all citizens”. "}],[{"start":138.87,"text":"Rome has yet to specify how it intends to generate the targeted revenues from banks and insurers, but speculation in the Italian media that it could come through a windfall tax has led to a fall in bank stocks over the past two days."}],[{"start":156.01,"text":"The issue has also caused tensions within Meloni’s three-party governing coalition. Forza Italia, the party led by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani — and backed by the family of the late prime minister Silvio Berlusconi — has declared that it would oppose any windfall profit tax."}],[{"start":175.94,"text":"Forza Italia will not vote “neither in the Cabinet nor in Parliament, for any tax on extra profits”, the party wrote in a social media post, though it said “it is right” for the government to reach a deal with the banks on raising revenues to support the country."}],[{"start":194.28,"text":"Lenders oppose any measure that may impact their balance sheets or capital buffers, according to people familiar with their thinking. The people said banks would not back proposals for a windfall tax."}],[{"start":207.68,"text":"One of the people said financial institutions “got their fingers burnt” in 2023 when the government suddenly announced plans to introduce a 40 per cent windfall tax that sent banking shares tumbling in Milan."}],[{"start":222.96,"text":"“The issue is extremely sensitive, it is not by coincidence that [banking] shares have been down all week on speculation windfall tax proposals may be revamped,” said another person. "}],[{"start":237.14000000000001,"text":"The Italian banking association ABI said this week its executive committee had “unanimously agreed” to continue with “extraordinary multiyear contributions to the state’s budget along the lines agreed last year”. In 2024, lenders agreed they would temporarily postpone certain tax credits in a move that would contribute just under €2bn to the budget."}],[{"start":265.64,"text":"The people familiar with the matter said banks had not expected to be involved in funding discussions this year as well, “thinking that what had been agreed last year was going to suffice”."}],[{"start":278.52,"text":"ABI director-general Marco Elio Rottigni has been tasked to lead the negotiations with the government. The people said talks were expected to continue through November. "}],[{"start":291.32,"text":"Talk of a bank tax comes as Italian political parties are in a campaign mode for a series of regional elections, including in the wealthy Veneto region, currently governed by the League party. On the campaign trail, Meloni has said she expected Italian lenders to “contribute” to society. "}],[{"start":312.65999999999997,"text":"Meloni’s government has played a key role in the banking sector’s consolidation over the past year and it remains a top shareholder in Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The lender just concluded the takeover of larger rival Mediobanca, which in turn is the largest shareholder in insurer Generali. "}],[{"start":333.68999999999994,"text":"“It would be pretty stupid to tank financial institutions when you have so much skin in the game, it’s all [political] posturing,” said one senior banking executive speaking on condition of anonymity. "}],[{"start":348.67999999999995,"text":"Further details of the government’s plans are expected to be unveiled when the Cabinet approves this year’s draft budget at a meeting scheduled for Friday morning."}],[{"start":369.2699999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1760661845_3792.mp3"}