Italy's banks may appeal against Renzi's tax hike

ABI waiting to see details of legislation

(ANSA) - Milan, April 9 - Italian banking association ABI said Wednesday that it may lodge a legal appeal against a tax hike announced in the government's economic blueprint, the Economic and Financial Document (DEF).

Premier Matteo Renzi said that the government was aiming to raise around one billion euros by making the country's banks pay higher taxes on their revalued stakes in the Bank of Italy, after his cabinet approved the DEF Tuesday. "We'll see when the legislation (on the tax rise) comes out," ABI Director General Giovanni Sabatini told reporters when asked about a possible appeal. "It's necessary to see how the regulation comes out".

Analysts estimated Wednesday that an increase from 12% to 26% on the rate of capital gains on last year's revaluation of Bank of Italy's share capital from 156,000 euros to 7.5 billion could cost Intesa alone 294 million euros. They estimated that Unicredit will have to pay 196 million euros more.