(Finance) – “The time for a turnaround on interest rates is approaching by the ECB, as also confirmed by the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Fabio Panetta. Inflation in our country has fallen from 10% in 2022 to the current 2.8%, therefore a reduction in rates to the benefit of businesses is now reasonable.” These are the considerations of Andrea De Bertoldi (deputy of Fratelli d’Italia in the Finance Commission at Montecitorio), speaking at Cnpr forum “Interest rates sink businesses while banks fly”promoted by the Accountants and Accounting Experts Welfare Fund, chaired by Luigi Pagliuca.
“The theme remains that companies need capital and must work towards encourage investment in equity. An important role can also be played in this sector Professional speakers and pension funds to guarantee the capital necessary for new investments. At least a significant share of 20% of pension funds must flow into the Italian stock exchange in small and mid caps which represent the heart of SMEs”, added De Bertoldi, underlining that “for families the government intervened cutting the tax wedge, merging the IRPEF rates but the real answer lies in the country’s economic recovery.”
On the taxation of extra profits he focused on Senator Mario Turco (national vice president of the M5s), who recalls “we always have questioned monetary policy of the ECB, incorrect in timing and methods”, as the inflation “was not monetary but rather linked to the increase in energy costs” and “produced an increase in rates of 4%” and 40 billion in extra profits for banks. We didn’t ask – underlined Turco – for these extras profits are taxed but on this proposal the government was ambiguous, allowing banks not to pay through perverse accounting games. We also ask for the creation of a Mortgage compensation fund to calculate and recalculate mortgages that have undergone tax increases and the restoration of tax breaks on the purchase of a first home for the young people. Finally, we need to introduce the legal minimum wagestarting from 9 euros gross, and renew expired contractual agreements”.
Second Roberto Pella (leader of Forza Italia in the Budget Committee of the Chamber), “the increase in rates is causing a huge crisis for businesses and families influencing their budgets heavily”. “The reduction in rates – Pella recalled – will not arrive before the summer and this condition will continue to have repercussions on companies. We have to hope that the choice of rate reduction occurs as soon as possible. For families in the economic package we have lowered the tax wedge, allowing employees to have over one hundred euros more on their paychecks, increasing the number of beneficiaries, just as the fringe benefit range has been expanded. We are carrying out the tax reform to help citizens be more relaxed when making declarations, aiming to encourage ‘compliance’ between the Revenue Agency and taxpayers”.
On the dignity of wages he expressed himself Marco Grimaldi (MP of the Alleanza Verdi Sinistra in the Budget Commission), according to which “we need to raise wages and lower interest rates, but the solution is not political because the ECB follows different logic. After the pandemic, the resources allocated to the ecological conversion of the economy were further slowed down by two ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and MO, pushing the end of the fossil era further away. There’s a repositioning of investments both in Europe and in international relations that worries us. To concretely help families, we need a wage indexation mechanism also introducing a national or European minimum wage“.
The professionals’ point of view was expressed by Easter Borracci (accountant and statutory auditor of the ODCEC of Bari), according to which “the increase in rates decided by the ECB is ruining businesses Italians while the banks ‘fly’. Immediate solutions are needed to rebalance things with a view to greater fairness. But businesses are not the only ones to suffer in this scenario, even for families it has not been easy to make ends meet between inflation, mortgages and increases in energy costs.”
The conclusions were entrusted to Paolo Longoni (adviser of the National Institute of Accounting Experts), according to which “there is not much activity in terms of support for businesses”, but “the issue is another” and that is “the The cost of higher rates is entirely borne by the final recipient. Evidently there is something wrong with the system. The effects on families of the higher cost of money also produce the same anomaly; here too there are those who profit from the increases. A legislative intervention – he underlines – could have been done, perhaps by putting a maximum ceiling on rate growth by the banks. Because the banks’ surplus profit must not fall on families. A roof is an instrument that could have been put in place, but there wasn’t the determination to implement it.”