Analysis
Tajani put his foot down to prevent systemic taxes on Italian banks
In short, the tug-of-war over the bank tax wasn't just about revenue; it was about political weight and balance within a coalition in which the Lega has less and less clout.
Just hours before the Council of Ministers meeting set to approve the budget on Friday morning at 11 a.m., the governing majority reached an agreement on the windfall tax on banks' excess profits.
It required an emergency summit, hastily convened at Palazzo Chigi on Thursday night, involving the four leaders of the governing parties and Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, who joined remotely from Washington after consulting with Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta. The final measure won't yield the €5 billion per year that Lega leader Matteo Salvini had deemed “necessary.” Nor will it amount to the structural intervention outlined in the budget planning document sent to Brussels just Thursday morning, which projected €11 billion over three years.
The threat of that higher level of taxation seems to have been used as leverage to persuade the Italian Banking Association (ABI) to accept a compromise it had rejected on Wednesday: a 27.5% tax on profits banks set aside as equity following a 2023 law. The measure is expected to cover a limited time frame – in short, the contribution will no longer be structural, but only a one-off payment.
Forza Italia arrived at the meeting ready to do battle on the side of the bankers, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni came prepared to mediate based on a proposal agreed upon with Deputy Economy Minister Maurizio Leo. However, Salvini's Lega and FI had been trading increasingly heavy blows all day.
The Lega started the day in a celebratory mood: “Among the revenue sources will be billions in contributions from the banks, as strongly desired by the Lega. A path laid out by Salvini and rightly followed by the government.” FI leader Antonio Tajani fired back: “That’s an idea straight out of the Soviet Union. There are ongoing talks with the banking and insurance sectors about making a contribution. It’s fine if it’s a choice agreed by everyone, but a tax imposed on excess profits would scare away foreign markets and investors.” This wasn't just an opinion: it was a red line. FI backed up Tajani's statement with an ironclad stance: “We will not vote for any tax on excess profits, either in the Council of Ministers or in Parliament.”
Tajani dug in his heels for reasons both principled and practical. Among the latter is the fierce resistance of Antonio Patuelli, the president of the ABI, who reportedly sees red –figuratively and literally – at the mere mention of taxing the billions banks have earned recently. There's also the fact that Minister Giorgetti himself favors a softer approach; according to Tajani, he even gave assurances in the past that there would be no windfall tax. Not to mention, of course, the interests of the financial giant Mediolanum, to which Forza Italia is highly attuned.
Salvini, however, was just as motivated, perhaps even more so. His controversial “Vannacci card” – running a far-right former general in the Tuscany regional elections – lost votes and garnered plenty of backlash. The governor of Veneto, Luca Zaia, is furious and is openly threatening Salvini's shaky position as leader. Despite his customary fiery pronouncements, the Lega leader has achieved very little lately and is even facing potential legal trouble. At a Lega rally in Padua on Wednesday, he promised his restless base he would hit several long-missed targets in the coming months. He said regional autonomy – likely meaning only areas not requiring complex funding agreements (LEP) – is certain to be implemented by year's end.
But FI is expected to obstruct this, as always, aiming to slow everything down, and behind them looms the shadow of Meloni's Brothers of Italy (FdI), which is unenthusiastic about the autonomy plan and fears losing votes in the South. Salvini also committed to pushing through a new tax amnesty scheme, for which an agreement among the coalition seems possible, excluding omitted tax declarations and allowing the repayment of back taxes in 56 bi-monthly payments over nine years.
In short, the tug-of-war over the bank tax wasn't just about revenue; it was about political weight and balance within a coalition in which the Lega has less and less clout, while its rival Forza Italia, partly thanks to its slow but steady gains in the polls, has more and more.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/tajani-punta-i-piedi-mano-lieve-sulle-banche on 2025-10-17