Giulio Tremonti
Encyclopedia
Giulio Tremonti (ˈdʒuːljo treˈmonti) (born August 18, 1947) is an Italian
politician. He served in the government of Italy as Minister of Economy and Finance under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2004, from 2005 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011.
, Italy, and has been a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Comparative Law, Oxford. His particular fields of interest are fiscal and tributary law, as well as fiscal policies.
Born in Sondrio
, Northern Lombardy
, in a family of Venetian
ancestry (from Lorenzago di Cadore
, Northern Veneto
), he was the man who facilitated the dialogue between billionaire entrepreneur/politician Silvio Berlusconi
and Umberto Bossi
, leader of the federalist Northern League
and a friend of Tremonti's, leading to the formation of the center-right coalition House of Freedoms
. Although a member of Forza Italia, on many issues he is closer to the League. In particular, he is a staunch political
and fiscal federalist
, supporting a federal reform of the Italian political system and more autonomy for Lombardy and Veneto, where he has his core supporters.
He first ran for the Italian Parliament
in 1987 with the Italian Socialist Party
. Elected for the first time in 1994 for the Pact for Italy
, he switched his allegiance to center-right Forza Italia
soon after the Parliament held session, and obtained the Finance position in the first Berlusconi cabinet.
Tremonti again served as Finance Minister from 2001 to 2004 when Berlusconi came back to power. He was compelled to resign after internal disputes about the economic situation of the country within the House of Freedoms, particularly with conservative National Alliance
. In late 2005 he was then reappointed to the same position for a third time after his substitute Domenico Siniscalco
resigned until the end of the Berlusconi III Cabinet. At 2008 general elections Berlusconi came back to power with a large majority in the parliament and assigned Tremonti the Economics and Finance position.
During his time in office, Tremonti made the first and biggest across the board Income tax
cuts in Italy by introducing a No-Tax-Area (2003) and reducing the top marginal tax rate (2005). He also made a significant reduction in the Corporate tax
rate (from 36% to 33% now down to 27.5%) and has abolished taxes on reinvested profits. He has also completely abolished all Donation taxes, Estate/Inheritance
taxes (2001) and more importantly Property taxes on Housing/Real Estate (2008) at the national level (property continues to be taxed at the local level). Nevertheless, after these measures, the OECD stated in its latest (2007) report on Italy that "tax rates are high compared to other countries". More recently he has been the promoter of the Global Legal Standards.
As an author, during his life Tremonti has written mostly on taxation and international trade. He expressed how high taxes are a drag for growth and how fiscal federalism can create territorial taxation competition between regions that can reduce the burden on families and workers. He has also been a critic of China's dumping trade policy that causes delocalization of jobs from Europe to Asia. Nevertheless in 2009 he gave an important lecture at the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China.
He is currently Chairman of the Aspen Institute Italia
and a frequent guest columnist on the Corriere della Sera
.
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Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
politician. He served in the government of Italy as Minister of Economy and Finance under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2004, from 2005 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011.
Career
Tremonti is a full professor of law at the University of PaviaUniversity of Pavia
The University of Pavia is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. It was founded in 1361 and is organized in 9 Faculties.-History:...
, Italy, and has been a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Comparative Law, Oxford. His particular fields of interest are fiscal and tributary law, as well as fiscal policies.
Born in Sondrio
Sondrio
Sondrio is an Italian town and comune located in the heart of the Valtellina. Sondrio counts approximately 22,000 inhabitants and it is the administrative centre for the Lombard Province of Sondrio.- History :...
, Northern Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
, in a family of Venetian
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
ancestry (from Lorenzago di Cadore
Lorenzago di Cadore
Lorenzago di Cadore is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 km north of Venice and about 45 km northeast of Belluno...
, Northern Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
), he was the man who facilitated the dialogue between billionaire entrepreneur/politician Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
and Umberto Bossi
Umberto Bossi
Umberto Bossi is an Italian politician, leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy. He is married to Manuela Marrone and has four sons ....
, leader of the federalist Northern League
Northern League (Italy)
Lega Nord , whose complete name is Lega Nord per l'Indipendenza della Padania , is a federalist and regionalist political party in Italy founded in 1991 as a federation of several regional parties of Northern and Central Italy, most of which had arisen...
and a friend of Tremonti's, leading to the formation of the center-right coalition House of Freedoms
House of Freedoms
The House of Freedoms , was a major Italian centre-right political and electoral alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi. It was initially composed of several political parties:*Forza Italia *National Alliance...
. Although a member of Forza Italia, on many issues he is closer to the League. In particular, he is a staunch political
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
and fiscal federalist
Fiscal federalism
As a subfield of public economics, fiscal federalism is concerned with "understanding which functions and instruments are best centralized and which are best placed in the sphere of decentralized levels of government"...
, supporting a federal reform of the Italian political system and more autonomy for Lombardy and Veneto, where he has his core supporters.
He first ran for the Italian Parliament
Parliament of Italy
The Parliament of Italy is the national parliament of Italy. It is a bicameral legislature with 945 elected members . The Chamber of Deputies, with 630 members is the lower house. The Senate of the Republic is the upper house and has 315 members .Since 2005, a party list electoral law is being...
in 1987 with the Italian Socialist Party
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
. Elected for the first time in 1994 for the Pact for Italy
Pact for Italy
The Pact of Italy was a centrist electoral coalition in Italy, launched by Mario Segni and Mino Martinazzoli in 1994....
, he switched his allegiance to center-right Forza Italia
Forza Italia
Forza Italia was a liberal-conservative, Christian democratic, and liberal political party in Italy, with a large social democratic minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy....
soon after the Parliament held session, and obtained the Finance position in the first Berlusconi cabinet.
Tremonti again served as Finance Minister from 2001 to 2004 when Berlusconi came back to power. He was compelled to resign after internal disputes about the economic situation of the country within the House of Freedoms, particularly with conservative National Alliance
National Alliance (Italy)
National Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
. In late 2005 he was then reappointed to the same position for a third time after his substitute Domenico Siniscalco
Domenico Siniscalco
Domenico Siniscalco is an Italian economist and former Minister of Finance.He served Italian government from June 2001 to July 2004 as Director General of Treasury...
resigned until the end of the Berlusconi III Cabinet. At 2008 general elections Berlusconi came back to power with a large majority in the parliament and assigned Tremonti the Economics and Finance position.
During his time in office, Tremonti made the first and biggest across the board Income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
cuts in Italy by introducing a No-Tax-Area (2003) and reducing the top marginal tax rate (2005). He also made a significant reduction in the Corporate tax
Corporate tax
Many countries impose corporate tax or company tax on the income or capital of some types of legal entities. A similar tax may be imposed at state or lower levels. The taxes may also be referred to as income tax or capital tax. Entities treated as partnerships are generally not taxed at the...
rate (from 36% to 33% now down to 27.5%) and has abolished taxes on reinvested profits. He has also completely abolished all Donation taxes, Estate/Inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
taxes (2001) and more importantly Property taxes on Housing/Real Estate (2008) at the national level (property continues to be taxed at the local level). Nevertheless, after these measures, the OECD stated in its latest (2007) report on Italy that "tax rates are high compared to other countries". More recently he has been the promoter of the Global Legal Standards.
As an author, during his life Tremonti has written mostly on taxation and international trade. He expressed how high taxes are a drag for growth and how fiscal federalism can create territorial taxation competition between regions that can reduce the burden on families and workers. He has also been a critic of China's dumping trade policy that causes delocalization of jobs from Europe to Asia. Nevertheless in 2009 he gave an important lecture at the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China.
He is currently Chairman of the Aspen Institute Italia
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...
and a frequent guest columnist on the Corriere della Sera
Corriere della Sera
The Corriere della Sera is an Italian daily newspaper, published in Milan.It is among the oldest and most reputable Italian newspapers. Its main rivals are Rome's La Repubblica and Turin's La Stampa.- History :...
.
Books on Economics and Finance
- La fiera delle tasse ("The Tax Fair", 1991)
- Il federalismo fiscale ("Fiscal Federalism", 1994)
- Il fantasma della povertà ("The Phantom of Poverty", 1995)
- Le cento tasse degli italiani ("The Hundred Taxes of Italians", 1996, with G. Vitaletti)
- Lo Stato criminogeno ("The crime-generating State", 1997)
- Rischi fatali – L’Europa vecchia, la Cina, il mercatismo suicida: come reagire ("Fatal risks: Old Europe, China, the Suicidal Free Market Ideology: How to React", 2005)
- La paura e la speranza - Europa : la crisi globale che si avvicina e la via per superarla ("Fear and hope - Europe: crisis approaching and the way to overcome it", 2008)
External links and other references
- Official biography
- University biography
- 2001 Profile in Business Week
- BBC Report on his resignation in 2004
- Giulio Tremonti's Official Website
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