Meloni Is Trying to Devise Bank Levy Italian Lenders Can Accept

(Bloomberg) - Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni is looking for a way to extract a levy from banks and insurers to help finance the country's budget that won't flounder like previous attempts.

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That may involve finding an agreed solution with the banks themselves for some form of contribution from their extra profits, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The government might also expand the measure to other sectors including energy, said the people, who declined to be identified because the talks are ongoing. The Finance Ministry declined to comment.

Meloni needs to raise cash as she seeks to keep voters onside amid a squeeze on Italy's public finances. She has repeatedly said that the financial sector should help support families that have suffered from high interest rates while banks have profited.

However, attempts to tax lenders have failed in the past. A 2023 scheme to levy a 40% tax on banks' excess profits triggered a selloff in the Italian financial sector before being diluted dramatically.

That has led several people inside the government to push for some form of one-off payment that banks would agree to, instead of trying to impose a solution that would likely quickly run into legal hurdles like previous attempts, the people said.

"Everyone will do their part," Deputy Prime Minister and League leader Matteo Salvini told Ansa newswire on Monday, saying banks and insurers had to do their part to help the economy as much as artisans and workers.

Meloni is not alone in her efforts. French Prime Minister Michel Barnier said on Sunday that he's considering taxing wealthy individuals and large companies to repair France's mammoth budget deficit without raising taxes on the middle class.

The European Union has reprimanded Italy and France for running excessive deficit. Both countries are working on plans on how to get their finance in order.

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