The Italian government expressed astonishment on Sunday after French Prime Minister François Bayrou accused Rome of practising “fiscal dumping”.
“French Prime Minister François Bayrou’s completely unfounded claims that Italy is engaging in ‘fiscal dumping’ and penalising France are astonishing,” Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office said in a statement.
The government argued that Italy’s economic performance stems from “stability and credibility” and not from unfair tax measures. It stressed that Rome does not offer unjustified tax advantages to attract European firms, noting that the flat-rate tax for new residents has doubled since 2016.
“Italy has been penalised for many years by the so-called European tax havens, which drain our public coffers of significant resources,” the statement continued. Rome urged Paris to join Italy in pressing the EU to act against member states accused of systematic fiscal dumping.
On Monday, Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini linked Bayrou’s remarks to France’s financial problems. “The French are on edge: the debt burden is more dangerous for investments than ours,” he said in Sirolo, where he presented the League’s regional candidates.
Salvini also reiterated his opposition to sending Italian soldiers to Ukraine, a stance that recently triggered tensions with Paris. “We’re doing everything we can to arm diplomacy, not tanks,” he said. “As long as I’m in government, there won’t be a single soldier fighting in Ukraine. We’re not at war, and we don’t want to be.”
Salvini added: “One day they summon ambassadors, the next they attack governments like Italy’s over a perfectly normal tax system.”
