Italy’s Giorgia Meloni Channels Milton Friedman With a Tax Cut on Cars

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni is playing a steady, pragmatic hand in her quest for global peace. No, Rome isn’t abandoning its ironclad promise to boost defense spending as part of its commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty. The Magic Boot’s military stands ready to defend both its borders and those of the alliance threatened by Moscow.Il Sole 24 Ore reported that in a recent video message, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto announced that “Italian Eurofighters stationed in Lithuania had shot down a drone whose origin is still uncertain.” Mr. Crosetto, who was attending meetings in Bulgaria, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, stressed that Italy’s response underscores the integrity and the importance of the alliance.Mr. Crosetto, like his boss, Signora Meloni, is a resolute problem-solver. Regarding the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, the defense minister informed parliament back in June that “we are among the few countries in the world with the capability to clear mines. So we could use this capability to restore stability in Hormuz.”Signora Meloni’s reign of political stability and budding economic prosperity is highlighting Rome’s considerable capabilities — and playing a distinct part in her comprehensive geopolitical strategy for peace. Reuters reported in September that Signora Meloni’s “government in April forecast 2026 gross domestic product growth of 0.6 percent,” while Italy’s parliamentary budget office “last month issued a more upbeat projection of 0.9 percent.”And as Signora Meloni told Il Foglio, “The Italian economy is holding up well, and data from the first six months of the year could point to 2026 growth of 1 percent, in line with, if not above, that of the euro zone.”Even so, Italy this year faces the prospect of becoming the euro zone’s most-indebted country, with public borrowing nearing 140 percent of gross domestic product. This puts Italy on track to exceed Greece in terms of public debt.The premier has her proverbial finger on the pulse of the Italian people. And as a free-enterprise conservative she is particularly sensitive to the pain of oppressive taxation.One such tax, the reviled road tax, or bollo auto, will now be abolished. Signora Meloni recently announced the elimination of the tax for cars with small-to-medium power, up to around 107 horsepower, and all motorbikes starting in 2027. This highly unpopular road tax affects 14.5 million cars and motorcycles across Italy.It wasn’t long before the disloyal opposition chimed in courtesy of a former prime minister, Matteo Renzi, who claimed that Signora Meloni’s action was a politically motivated ploy to secure votes for the general election next year.In rebutting Mr. Renzi’s assertion that his government had proposed important fiscal measures, Signora Meloni said: “Bravo, Matteo. Today you discovered the difference between announcing and realizing.” Moreover, Il Tempo’s Daniele Capezzone noted, à la Milton Friedman, that any diminution of the tax burden is inherently good because it forces a reduction in government size and curbs public spending.Indeed, as the Nobel Prize-winning economist averred decades ago, “I am in favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it’s possible.”And the fiscally prudent Economy Minister, Giancarlo Giorgetti, buttressed Signora Meloni’s Friedman-like bollo auto tax-cut by explaining that Italy’s unused allotments from a European Union aid fund, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, made the action feasible.Signora Meloni, advancing a foreign policy that has been reinforced by Italy’s domestic accomplishments, last week journeyed to Norway to further a geopolitical linkage that could well engender a more peaceful global order.The premier, noting that her visit to Oslo was the first by an Italian prime minister in 15 years, reminisced that the trip coincided with the centenary of the 1926 Arctic flight of the airship Norge, led by Roald Amundsen and Umberto Nobile.Such cooperation extends to the present day. In addition to reaffirming Italy and Norway’s energy ties and history of scientific and technological achievements, Signora Meloni underscored that “we are both nations that see the chessboard as a whole.”From the Strait of Hormuz to Africa to Europe, Rome and Oslo are in agreement. And as to the war in Ukraine, she said, “Italy and Norway are working, and will continue to work, to strengthen the resilience of the Ukrainian people,” promoting “negotiation prospects towards what must be a just and lasting peace, for as long as necessary.”

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni Channels Milton Friedman With a Tax Cut on Cars

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni Channels Milton Friedman With a Tax Cut on Cars

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