On August 7, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini announced that the government had approved a "levy on the 'extra profits' of banks", calling it a "social equity measure". The Lega leader said the IRS would collect several billion euros to be used for tax cuts and to come to the rescue of those who could no longer pay their first home mortgage. None of this happened. Mindful of the banks' objections, during the decree's consideration in Parliament, the majority parties in fact approved an amendment that allowed those affected not to pay the tax as long as they set aside an amount equal to two and a half times its value as a reserve. The banks could decide, in essence, whether to strengthen their own assets or those of the state. Needless to say, all banks, bar none, chose the first option. And so, despite the fact that these days the banks presented quarterly reports with billion-dollar profits, thanks to the rate hike, none of them allocated an additional euro to the state. Not even Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which is also controlled by the Ministry of Economy. Neutral observers judge this affair farcical. The script is now in danger of repeating itself with the insurance companies, urged yesterday by Minister Adolfo Urso to invest in public debt securities in order to secure the state's accounts as much as possible. However, the responses were not as expected. Unipol explained that European constraints require diversified investments. The head of Generali was more hasty and replied that the state cannot remember insurance only when it needs to.
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