Berliusconi is on the racks again. This time he’s biting the hand that feeds him and his cohorts by proposing a “solidarity” tax for high-earners- anyone with an income over €90,000 a year will be assessed an additional 5% tax in each of the next two years. The rate will be 10% for incomes over €150,000.
I thought that the solidarity tax was so called as an indication that the rich had got away with paying less taxes for so long and they would at long last be on a par with those on lower incomes. In fact the tax is defined as a levy in an attempt to provide funding towards theoretically unifying (or solidifying) projects.
Having promised not to raise taxes for anyone (yeah, right!) Berlusconi is being forced into this corner by the economic crisis. He issued a statement of regret but insisted the emergency measures were fair.
The highest profile protesters to date are Serie A soccer players who have called a strike in protest (this is linked to another unrelated issue about the treatment players near the end of their club contracts).
The whole situation is a mess that shows that the rich will always go to great lengths to preserve their wealth and the only silver lining is that it is a further nail in Berlusconi’s coffin.
