Giulio Tremonti
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Onorevole
Giulio Tremonti |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office May 8, 2008 |
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| Prime Minister | Silvio Berlusconi |
| Preceded by | Tommaso Padoa Schioppa |
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| In office April 23, 2005 – May 17, 2006 |
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| Prime Minister | Silvio Berlusconi |
| Preceded by | Domenico Siniscalco |
| Succeeded by | Tommaso Padoa Schioppa |
| In office June 10, 2001 – July 3, 2004 |
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| Prime Minister | Silvio Berlusconi |
| Preceded by | Vincenzo Visco |
| Succeeded by | Silvio Berlusconi interim Domenico Siniscalco |
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Italian Minister of Finance
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| In office May 10, 1994 – January 17, 1995 |
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| Prime Minister | Silvio Berlusconi |
| Preceded by | Franco Gallo |
| Succeeded by | Augusto Fantozzi |
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| Born | August 18, 1947 Sondrio, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Political party | Forza Italia |
| Alma mater | University of Pavia |
| Profession | economist university professor |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Giulio Tremonti (born August 18, 1947) is an Italian politician. He is the current Minister of Economy and Finance in the Italian government, presided over by Silvio Berlusconi. He served in the same capacity and as Deputy Prime Minister in prior Berlusconi cabinets.
[edit] Career
Tremonti is a full professor of law at the University of Pavia, 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 federalistNorthern 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 Mr. Tremonti the Economics and Finance position.
During his time in office, Mr. 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".
As an author, during his life Mr. 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 cause delocalization of jobs from Europe to Asia. "Tremonti was always fairly suspicious of globalisation, once remarking that Europe would end up in the pot of a Chinese cook if it wasn’t careful."[1]
He is currently Chairman of the Aspen Institute Italia and a frequent guest columnist on the Corriere della Sera.
[edit] 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)
[edit] References
- ^ Tony Barber, Financial Times, 2008
- Official biography (Italian)
- University biography (Italian)
- 2001 Profile in Business Week
- BBC Report on his resignation in 2004
- Giulio Tremonti's Official Website
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Franco Gallo |
Italian Minister of Finance 1994 – 1995 |
Succeeded by Augusto Fantozzi |
| Preceded by Vincenzo Visco |
Italian Minister of Economy and Finance 2001 – 2004 |
Succeeded by Silvio Berlusconi |
| Preceded by Domenico Siniscalco |
Italian Minister of Economy and Finance 2005 – 2006 |
Succeeded by Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa |
| Preceded by Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa |
Italian Minister of Economy and Finance 2008 – present |
Incumbent |
| Italian Chamber of Deputies | ||
| Preceded by Alfredo Biondi, Publio Fiori, Clemente Mastella, Fabio Mussi |
Vice President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies 2006 - 2008 Served alongside: Pierluigi Castagnetti, Carlo Leoni, Giorgia Meloni |
Succeeded by Rosy Bindi, Rocco Buttiglione, Antonio Leone, Maurizio Lupi |
| Preceded by Title Jointly held |
Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Legislatures XI, XII, XIII, XVI, XV, XVI 1994 - present |
Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| New title | Vice President of Forza Italia 2004 – 2008 |
Succeeded by Roberto Formigoni |
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