Few benefits in terms of revenue, many risks on the demand side. So the Ministry of Economy evaluates the possible increase in the tax levy on bots, hypothesis advanced on Sunday by Graziano Delrio, undersecretary to the presidency of the Council, as part of a general plan to reduce the tax wedge and the pressure on businesses.
The rejection comes directly from Maria Cannata. From the Roman stage of the Consob Audotorium, where she spoke for the presentation of the Commission's Risk Outlook, the head of public debt to the Treasury underlined that "a possible change in the taxation of government bonds would only have an impact on retail, i.e. on individual investors, the so-called 'net-holders', who represent a modest component of the stock. On the contrary, it would have no effect for the 'lordists', institutional investors, because their bonds are taxed outside the flat coupon”.
For this reason, “the effects on the revenue front would be modest – continued Cannata -. However, I don't know what would happen on the demand side, considering that retail is sensitive to these aspects. It should be remembered that the tax on the securities dossier has already been increased. A little caution wouldn't hurt." That is to say: a new rise in prices could discourage households from investing in government bonds.
The president of Consob is more optimistic, Joseph Vegas, who considers the idea of remodulating the taxation on financial income "reasonable" if the final bill will benefit taxpayers: "We need to see how the system as a whole emerges".
However, the fiscal problem is not the only obstacle on the road to Italian recovery. Another crucial aspect is the business credit: “Banks still represent the main financing channel in our country – recalled Vegas -, but during the crisis loans dropped significantly and at the same time investments in bonds grew by 2%. Attention has also increased for alternative instruments such as minibonds”.
According to Vegas, this trend demonstrates the need to “promote a culture that does not see in the financial market only the monster of pure speculation, but above all a useful tool for bringing savings and businesses closer together. It is necessary to make entry into the stock market more attractive and easier, also by reducing costs and increasing vigilance”.
