In the Meloni government’s newly launched economic manoeuvre, there is also room to cut the Rai license fee, one of the most hated taxes by Italians, which will drop from 90 euros to 70 euros next year. By Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini: ”There is a first intervention on the Rai license fee that will be deducted from the Italian taxpayers’ bill”. In fact, it is a first intervention, the beginning of a path that will lead to the definitive cancellation of the tax, according to the executive. The definitive extinction of the TV license fee, however, still seems a long way off. For now, Italians will have to make do with a small initial cut. So what will be the impact on the electricity bill?
How do rent deductions and bills change?
The television license fee, whose annual amount will increase from 90 euros to 70 euros in 2024, is divided into 10 installments and included in the electricity bills between January and October. Obviously, the charging method varies with the frequency of billing: next year the impact of the fee on monthly bills will be 7 euros (instead of 9), bimonthly (instead of 18) will be 14 euros. Minister of Economy Giorgetti, when introducing the innovation, mistakenly mentioned a reduction in the invoice of about 5 euros (from 20 to 15), later explaining that this was a rough calculation and could be attributed to the fact that the majority of suppliers exported goods. two months’ worth of bills. In fact, for customers who receive electricity bills every two months, the reduction due to the fee cut will be 4 euros (2 euros for monthly billing).
As Salvini explains, this should be the first step towards saying goodbye to the tax introduced in February 1938: an annual reduction of 20% will lead to its complete cancellation in 5 years, in 2027. The late Matteo Renzi revolutionized the payment method by adding a tax to the electricity bill and seized the fee. It had previously reached a record figure of 113 euros due to the high rate of tax evasion. In 2016, thanks to the automatic inclusion of the tax in electricity expenditure items and the transition from 16 million subscriptions to 22 million, it first dropped to 100 euros and then to 90 euros. Total revenue, currently around 1.7 billion, should fall to around 1.2 billion euros; With this income, the State’s public coffers will continue to be financed and support will be provided for public channels, television news, radio news and all broadcasting and communication projects of a country. It is public, current and political.
Debate: cut or move?
But while management members celebrate a historic reduction in rents, there are also those who want clarification on whether this is a real cut or a change. A “shell game” that transfers the amount deducted from the invoice elsewhere. But let’s go step by step. According to data provided by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, “From the reduction in the license fee in the bill, Rai’s overall budget has changed only slightly, in line with the cuts foreseen for all ministries: from 440 million to 420 million. In the Rai license fee, the integration of Rai’s financing for investment-related expenses A corresponding reduction of 20 euros is expected.” So what changes if the 20 million euros deducted from Rai funds are always paid in Italian money? A question also asked by Democratic Party deputy and Rai Audit group leader Stefano Graziano: “On the one hand, they announce that there will be a reduction in license fees, as Deputy Prime Minister Salvini emphatically did. On the other hand, together with Mef, they state that these resources will in any case be taken from general taxes. Therefore, “always from tax-paying citizens. Even in this case, the government is playing a front game.”
A theme also emphasized by Barbara Floridia, head of the Rai audit commission: “The government needs to clarify as soon as possible about the cut in the Rai license fee made by Ministers Salvini and Giorgetti. Is this a real cut? Or a change in general taxation? Nothing at this point there can be no uncertainty because whatever measure is intended to be taken, it is necessary to guarantee the certainty of the resources required for Rai to provide the public service; our democracy”. In short, the interruption is pleasant if it is effective, otherwise the bitter taste remains in the mouth of “mockery” of someone who saved you 20 euros and then made you pay for it in another way.
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Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
