Giorgetti: “The motor vehicle tax will be a structural measure. I hope Italia’s deficit will be below 3 per cent.”

“I am not confident, but I am hopeful for Italia and for the Italian Republic.” Speaking from Dublin on the sidelines of the Eurogroup meeting, the Minister for the Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti reflected on Italy’s possible exit from the EU’s excessive deficit procedure, which hinges on the review of the 2025 deficit due on 22 September. “It is not a decision we make: it is a decision made by Istat,” he emphasised, quoting manager Boskov: “A penalty is when the referee blows the whistle.” He then added that “the scrapping of the motor vehicle tax will be a structural measure”.

The measures regarding vehicle tax “will obviously be structural. We have introduced a decree-law; we must reach agreements with the regions and those with special status to be ready by 1 January. In the Budget Bill, the measure will be extended in duration, with proposals to extend its scope and broaden the target group. Naturally, everything will have to be subject to feasibility and financial constraints,” explained Giorgetti. The measure “was a difficult decision because we spent a long time examining various options. Together with our European colleagues, we are facing major difficulties over how to tackle rising petrol and diesel prices. We had adopted a policy on excise duties, but it was financially unsustainable. The proposal on vehicle tax, following checks and a great deal of work, was one that would, so to speak, certainly benefit motorists. It is very straightforward and does not require self-certification or ISEE assessments, which usually complicate such measures.”

On the agenda for today’s informal Ecofin meeting, the 27 Member States are discussing the possible taxation of energy companies’ windfall profits, an issue which Italia had called for at European level in a . Giorgetti expressed confidence that support for the proposal ‘will grow’, even though the Commissioner for the Economy Valdis Dombrovskis reiterated that the matter is ‘in the hands of the Member States: they can decide to tax them. “If necessary, we are ready to discuss this and assist them” in designing tailored measures, but at this stage we do not envisage a proposal at EU level”.

Speaking via video link at the Portofino Talks, Giorgetti reported that, in his address to the Eurogroup, he had drawn everyone’s attention to the issue of energy, “which I consider a genuine emergency”, both from an economic perspective and in terms of competitiveness. ‘Italia is a manufacturing nation; Germany and Italia are two countries that still require a great deal of energy today to fulfil this economic role, and this is a serious problem that is beginning to affect our industry.’

The other warning issued by the Minister for Public Finance concerns interest rates, ‘or rather the cost of debt, which has begun to rise at an alarming rate in light of a number of factors. ‘I have observed,’ he explained, ‘that inflation stems from a supply shock, rather than from the economy and demand overheating, which needs to be cooled by a restrictive monetary policy. This may help, but it does not in itself solve the problem. Inflation is set to rise, and this is a problem for households and businesses.”