The Tobin Tax doublesThis is provided for in one of the government's amendments to the budget expected today in the Senate committee. The revenue from the increase in taxes on financial transactions, such as the purchase of shares on the stock exchange, will serve to avoid the dividend blow which the government itself had included in the original version of the budget bill. In short: if on one hand you give, on the other you take, always following the same mantra that Minister Giorgetti has been repeating for months now: Each modification must have its own coverage. Not a single euro more than the budgeted balances must be spent, even in cases where—as is currently the case with dividends—it involves correcting a measure that has been unpalatable from the outset, including those who introduced it. At stake is the exit from the excessive deficit infringement procedure, on which Italy has decided to stake everything.
The increase in the Tobin Tax
The initial proposal, first signed by the senator of FdI, Raoul Russo, envisaged a gradual increase dell'financial transaction tax' from the current 0,1% to 0,2%, then to 0,4% in 2029, guaranteeing one billion a year.
However, the Government needs resources and therefore the increase will be sharp and immediate. Starting in 2026, the Tobin Tax will rise from 0,2% to 0,4%, with all due respect to the savers who invest in Piazza Affari and the stock exchange executives who were asking for the exact opposite in order to encourage investments and listings.
“The current structure of taxation on financial transactions brings 546 million euros into the state coffers per year according to the statistical bulletin of the Department of Finance: a sharp doubling could therefore bring additional coverage to the budget for approximately 1,5 billion euros in three years, thus producing approximately 60% of the funds needed”, underlines the Sun 24 Hours.
What will happen to dividends?
The increased resources resulting from the immediate increase in the Tobin Tax—and from other measures, such as the €2 tax on micro-shipments, which will apply to all packages, including those departing and arriving in Italy—will be used to amend the now-infamous Article 18 of the Budget Bill on dividends.
After weeks of discussions, the government has reportedly found a solution: the substantial exemption regime applied today will continue to be applied to dividends from subsidiaries with more than 5% of the capital, but it will also be guaranteed on the qsmaller wheels that have a value higher than a threshold to be established (between 1 and 2,5 million). On the other hand, to obtain the benefit, the participation should be detained for three years. The law now provides for raising the exemption threshold on shareholdings from 5 to 10%, with a very high revenue.
