Italy has imposed an unexpected one-time tax on the banking sector, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government announcing that "additional profits" made by banks on the back of higher interest rates will be subject to an additional 40 percent tax charge.
Meloni's government justified its action by saying it would use the tax to fund relief for families affected by higher interest rates. Italy expects to raise less than 3 billion euros ($3.29 billion) from the measure. Italian banks have posted huge profits due to interest rate hikes. Italy's top five banks reported a total profit of $10.5 billion in the first half of 2023, up 64 percent year-on-year, according to rating agency DPS Morningstar."
Source (Al-Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
