Italy's Meloni defends controversial bank windfall tax raid

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defended the decision to impose a windfall tax on profits at Italy's banks, which was later watered down following a market rout. The tax, targeting gains from banks' higher interest rates, will not exceed 0.1% of their total assets. While other European countries have introduced similar taxes, Italy's initial announcement caught the market off guard, damaging confidence. Meloni emphasized the importance of banks behaving correctly given the challenging economic circumstances. Analysts estimate the tax will have an aggregate impact of €1.9 billion ($2.1 billion). Italian bank shares rebounded following the announcement.