Italian minister proposes fresh taxes on arms makers’ windfall profits

ROME — Italian defense companies whose profits have soared thanks to armed conflicts around the world could face increased taxation, Italy’s finance minister has suggested in a speech which has been challenged by his allies.

Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said the imposition of fresh taxes on Italian arms makers could be part of across-the-board revenue raising by the Italian government as it struggles to boost its finances.

“There will be a general call for everyone to contribute, not just banks,” he said on Thursday, adding, “One could say that with all these wars, those who produce arms are doing particularly well.”

Asked if he would consider upping taxation on the sector, he said, “Evidently yes.”

He added, “We will be approving a budget that will require sacrifices from everyone.”

Shares in Italy’s largest defense firm, Leonardo, dropped after Giorgetti’s speech to 20.56 euros from 21.10 a day earlier before rising slightly to 20.87 euros on Friday.

The firm’s share price has risen dramatically in the last two years on the strength of new orders and the rise in defense spending fueled by the conflict in Ukraine.

From between six and seven euros a share just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the price of Leonardo shares reached around 24 euros in June of this year.

Announcing its half year results in July, the firm said it had a record order backlog worth €43 billion, helping it make a half year profit of €555 million, up 168% on the previous year.

Giorgetti’s announcement, which came as the Italian government works on its year-end budget, prompted surprise from allies in Italy’s right wing government who oppose new taxes.

Federico Freni, a junior finance minister who answers to Giorgetti, said, “There is no tax raise for anyone being studied. New taxes are not part of the DNA of this government.”

On Friday, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani, said, “No new taxes, we are totally against imposing new taxes,” adding, “There have been some misinterpretations of some words said yesterday” by Minister Giorgetti.

He said, “as long as we are in government there will be no new taxes for Italians.”

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——意大利财政部长在一次演讲中暗示，由于世界各地的武装冲突，意大利国防公司的利润飙升，这些公司可能面临更高的税收。他的这一说法遭到了盟友的质疑。

意大利国防部长詹卡洛·乔尔杰蒂表示，对意大利武器制造商征收新税可能是意大利政府为改善财政状况而采取的全面增收措施的一部分。

“我们将呼吁所有人做出贡献，而不仅仅是银行，”他周四表示，“可以说，在所有这些战争中，那些生产武器的人尤其获利。”

当被问及是否会考虑提高该行业的税收时，他回答说：“显然会的。”

他补充说：“我们将批准一项预算，这项预算需要每个人都做出牺牲。”

意大利最大的国防公司莱昂纳多的股价在乔治蒂发表讲话后下跌至20.56欧元，前一天为21.10欧元，周五略微回升至20.87欧元。

过去两年，由于新订单的增加以及乌克兰冲突推动的国防开支增长，该公司股价大幅上涨。

在 2022 年 2 月俄罗斯入侵乌克兰之前，莱昂纳多股票的价格在每股 6 至 7 欧元之间；而到了今年 6 月，其价格已达到每股 24 欧元左右。

该公司在7月份公布了半年业绩，称其订单积压额创下430亿欧元的纪录，帮助其实现了5.55亿欧元的半年利润，比上年增长了168%。

乔尔杰蒂的声明正值意大利政府制定年终预算之际，这引起了意大利右翼政府盟友的惊讶，他们反对征收新税。

向乔尔杰蒂汇报工作的财政部副部长费德里科·弗雷尼表示：“目前没有针对任何人的增税计划。新税种不属于本届政府的政策范畴。”

周五，意大利外交部长安东尼奥·塔亚尼表示：“不征收新税，我们完全反对征收新税。”他还补充说：“昨天乔尔杰蒂部长的一些言论被误解了。”

他说：“只要我们执政，就不会对意大利人征收新税。”

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。