Rome. The Italian treasury is empty. That’s why Giorgia Meloni comes up with a rigorous plan – and asks cryptocurrency investors to pay up.
Italy’s Prime Minister is looking for fresh money for the empty state coffers Giorgia Meloni landed among crypto investors. Profits on Bitcoins and other digital currencies will in future be taxed much higher in Italy than before.
Economy in Berlin
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Specifically, the tax rate is to be increased from the current 26 to 42 percent. This means that additional proceeds from crypto transactions would have to be taxed – the tax exemption should remain at 2,000 euros, announced Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Maurizio Leo. He stressed that this is necessary to increase government revenue while maintaining a balance between traditional Financial investments and produce cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin, Ether and Co.: New tax could dampen demand in Italy
If the higher tax comes from 2025 as announced, we will probably have to deal with a damper in demand Cryptocurrencies in Italy. It would also be conceivable that demand would partially shift towards investment products based on cryptocurrencies, so-called ETN, ETC or ETP, which in Italy, like ETFs and stocks, are subject to a capital gains tax of 26 percent, but from the first euro won.
Between 2022 and 2024, the number of people in Italy who like cryptocurrencies has increased Bitcoins hold in their portfolio, more than doubled from 8 to 18 percent. Likewise, the proportion of people investing in sustainable investment products has increased from 11 to 20 percent, according to the latest report from the Italian securities regulator Consob, which examines the investment decisions of families in Italy.
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In Italy there should be a special tax for insurance companies and banks
Greater taxation of Bitcoins is one of numerous measures included in Italy’s draft budget for 2025. The budget presented by Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti contains measures worth a total of 30 billion euros. The Italian government wants to have one Special tax Insurance companies and banks will earn more than 3.5 billion euros in the coming year. The new tax is expected to bring in 2.5 billion from banks and around a billion from insurance companies. Life insurance is exempt from tax.
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The Meloni government already had a 40 percent tax on the last year “Excess profits” of the banks announced what they had done with the high interest rates. However, this caused the shares of not only the financial institutions in Milan to collapse – the government then backed down and weakened the excess profits tax to such an extent that in the end there was no income for the state. When it came to the new special tax, the government spoke of an “agreement” with the banks. Thanks to the revenue from the special tax on insurance and banks, the Meloni government wants to make more resources available to the public health system.
Needs money for the cash-strapped state coffers: Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. © AFP | Ludovic Marin
Italy is heavily in debt
The main goal of the government led by Prime Minister Meloni, who has been in office for two years, is to reduce the national debt. Last year the state budget deficit was over seven percent Debt burden is almost three trillion euros. Italy thus sets an EU record.
From next year they will apply again European budget rulesthat were suspended during the corona pandemic. By 2026 at the latest, the deficit must be reduced to below three percent and the mountain of debt must be reduced significantly over the next seven years.
