A coalition of center-right parties (market-oriented, low-tax conservative parties in American parlance) agreed to an electoral pact on Thursday, January 18, 2018. Silvio Berlusconi of Forza Italia, Matteo’s Salvini of Lega Nord, and Georgia Meloni of Nationalist Brothers of Italy listed ten measures in their joint platform. Topping the list was a single-rate flat tax: Salvini proposes 15%, Berlusconi about 20%, with Meloni concurring in the general concept.
Should the coalition form the next Italian government, the flat tax will be the first measure it submits to Parliament. A text of the law already exists, with only the exact rate to be set. It would be relatively easy to select, say, a rate of 18-19%, with an agreement to reduce the rate one percentage point each year to 15% if revenue materializes as projected.
This is from Alvin Rabushka, “Prosperità per L’Italia,” Thoughtful Ideas, January 20, 2018.
Alvin is one of my Hoover colleagues.
I wonder what co-blogger Alberto Mingardi thinks are this coalition’s chances.
READER COMMENTS
Scott Sumner
Jan 21 2018 at 1:31am
I’m not sure I would describe Berlusconi’s party as “market oriented”, based on his long period in government (which was pretty awful).
Quite Likely
Jan 21 2018 at 8:42am
“A coalition of center-right parties (market-oriented, low-tax conservative parties in American parlance)”
Yikes. We’re on the same page that this is more of a right-nationalist coalition of the worst actors in Italian politics right?
Giobbe
Jan 22 2018 at 4:26am
I am hoping Mingardi agrees with me on this. I think it’s a very good idea,
but the centre-right parties in Italy were never very reliable. Berlusconi
has been promising things like a “[classical] liberal revolution” for a very
long time.
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