Giulio Tremonti

Biography

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 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 finances position in the first Berlusconi cabinet.

Tremonti again served as finances 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 the 2008 general elections Berlusconi came back to power with a large majority in the parliament and assigned Tremonti the Economics and Finances position. At the end of 2011, following some rumors Tremonti would close to leave Pdl and to adhere to the Northern League. On 5 September 2012 Tremonti announced that he was setting up his own political movement ahead of elections to be held by next spring, potentially siphoning support from Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party.

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". 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 member of the Italy-USA Foundation, chairman of the Aspen Institute Italia and a frequent guest columnist on the Corriere della Sera.

Books on Economics and Finances