Italy announced on Friday it would tax extra profits made by energy companies from soaring prices due to the war in Ukraine, to ease the cost to families and businesses.
“Let’s tax part of the extraordinary profits that producers are making thanks to the increase in the cost of raw materials, and let’s redistribute this money to companies and families who are in great difficulty,” Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said during a meeting. press conference.
10% tax
The Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Daniele Franco specified that the tax would be 10% on the additional profits made, without giving more details for the moment.
A government source told AFP that the tax will relate to additional profits made over the past six months, comparing them to profits for the same period last year.
4.4 billion euros of additional measures
The money raised will help fund a €4.4 billion package of measures to alleviate soaring energy prices, Draghi said, adding to the €16 billion already spent on that direction for the past six months.
The aid measures will also be financed by the additional tax revenues generated by the rise in energy prices and will not require new borrowing, according to the government source.
25 cents less for a month
Among the new Italian measures decided in this period of “high volatility”, according to Draghi, is a reduction in fuel taxes, to reduce prices at the pump by 25 euro cents per liter for a month. The government will also freeze energy bills, applying last summer’s prices, for 1.2 million additional households, bringing the number of households affected to 5.2 million.
European countries are looking to put in place new strategies to alleviate the cost of energy prices, which were already high and have soared since Russia invaded Ukraine.