Overview

• Treasurey technicians are exploring an ad valorem tax on share repurchases, with options reported at roughly 2–3%, taking the U.S. 1% levy as a structural reference.
• Design choices include whether to limit the measure to banks or apply it across all listed companies, potentially covering insurers, industrial groups and energy majors.
• Forza Italia rejects the idea of a new levy—Antonio Tajani calls it a grave mistake—while Matteo Salvini’s League backs a contribution from banks after strong profits.
• The proposal remains at the technical-discussion stage and has not been formalized; ABI has reportedly not been consulted, and bank stocks eased modestly in Milan on the reports.
• Large institutions with active buybacks would be most exposed, with UniCredit disclosing multi‑billion euro programs, Intesa Sanpaolo running a €2 billion plan, and Mediobanca pursuing a new €400 million tranche.