Italy's banks should contribute 5 billion euros to 2026 budget

Italy’s ruling League party has said domestic banks should contribute around €5 billion ($5.85 billion) towards the 2026 budget.

The proposal, the party explained in a statement, draws on windfall tax measures already implemented in several European countries. The League, led by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and counting Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti among its senior figures, said the aim was “to intervene on the excess profits of the major credit institutions.”

According to a source familiar with the matter, the League is considering a Spanish-style levy on banks, taxing net interest income and commissions with bands ranging from 1% to 7%.

Giorgetti said last week that Italy’s banking sector had recorded “stratospheric profits” over the past five years and should now contribute more to public finances.

The plan is expected to face opposition within the governing coalition, particularly from Forza Italia, which has voiced strong resistance to windfall taxation of banks.

“Banks can and must do their duty, but ‘extra profit’ is something that doesn’t exist,” said Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani, who also serves as deputy prime minister and foreign minister. “Taxing extra profits and continuing to threaten the banks risks destabilising our entire financial system, alarming the markets and driving investors away.”

Italy previously attempted to impose a 40% windfall tax on banks in 2023, but the measure triggered a sharp sell-off in banking shares, forcing the government to scale back the plan. A package of measures introduced at the end of 2024 eventually raised €4 billion from the sector to help finance this year’s budget.

Other options currently under discussion include tightening the rules on how banks use deferred tax assets to reduce their tax liabilities, following last year’s precedent, or introducing a levy on share buybacks designed to reward shareholders, the source added.

Copied