Cottarelli approves (with reservations) the cut in vehicle tax: “Good, but it must become a permanent measure”

Is it merely election propaganda, as the opposition claims? Or is it a relief for Italians, as the ruling coalition maintains? “I don’t judge intentions; I don’t follow these controversies. But in principle, I think the exemption from road tax is a positive move,” Carlo Cottarelli tells Il Foglio. “I’m in favour of reducing all taxes and also the number of levies – bureaucratic and otherwise – that waste time.” There is no shortage of unknowns, however: “Structural funding is needed. For now, beyond the announcements, we are talking about a cut that lasts for just one year.” Nor is there any shortage of controversy. So much so that, whilst the economist from the Catholic University of Milan is speaking to Il Foglio, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Renzi are squabbling on social media.

Carlo Cottarelli, the former spending review commissioner, approves – albeit with reservations – the exemption from car tax for 2027, whilst the majority promises that the cut will become permanent and that work is already underway on the next budget. Good, but not great? “Let’s say ‘not bad’,” smiles the economist. The director of the Public Accounts Observatory at the Catholic University of Milan agrees with the rationale – lower taxes – underpinning the measure. And the method? “The government has explained that the cut will be funded through somewhat unusual means.” Around 2.3 billion comes from unused NRRP funds, which are also being used to provide an alternative response to high fuel prices. The measure, which according to Salvini’s MIT will affect over 24 million citizens, has raised some concerns amongst regional presidents, particularly those from the centre-left. Cottarelli says: “These are savings relating to investment expenditure – resources that were actually meant to be invested elsewhere. That did not happen, and now they are being used instead to cut taxes. But – the economist continues – for the time being, that’s fine, not least because the tax burden is currently at its highest. I hope there will be a follow-up. It seems to me that the government has said there will be permanent funding provisions in the Budget Law. We’ll see.” We will have to wait a few more weeks to really understand how this will all turn out.

Meanwhile, as was inevitable, a political row has immediately broken out between the right and the left over a measure that was proposed by Silvio Berlusconi in 2008, and subsequently revived by ‘Il Cav’ himself in more recent years. After all, the reduction in road tax also has its supporters in progressive circles – not to mention the difficulties, even in terms of communication, of opposing a measure of this kind. Filippo Sensi, a reformist within the PD, put it bluntly, voicing a sentiment shared by more than one member of the opposition. “As for the road tax, let’s not make a fuss. He’s gone ahead with it. He did the right thing. It’s up to us to do better,” said the senator. Matteo Renzi shares a similar view; in his opinion, the exemption “is a good idea – I never criticise anyone who cuts taxes”. After all, the leader of IV had himself considered a similar measure when he was Prime Minister. And yesterday he recalled how Meloni used to call him “a salesman of saucepans” for some of his proposals, prompting a sharp retort from the Prime Minister shortly afterwards: Today you’ve discovered the difference between announcing and delivering.” A clash that certainly has the flavour of the election campaign, which is drawing ever closer, but which also demonstrates how certain moves – which inevitably respond to the logic of winning support – can ultimately come from one side or the other. According to Cottarelli, is the road tax exemption a right-wing or left-wing measure? Or is it bipartisan? “It seems to me that the majority is in favour. The opposition, on the other hand, is against it; if anything, they will be the ones to say whether it is bipartisan. But at this moment – he concludes – I would say definitely not.”