The Use of Tax Law from a Macroprudential Perspective: the Impact of Some Recent Tax Measures on Procyclicality and Banks’ Stability

A number of recent changes to Italian tax law have important implications for financial stability. The taxation of banks’ loan losses has been revised, attenuating its procyclicality, encouraging the adoption of more prudential loan valuation policies and contributing to the transparency of banks’ balance sheet. For all firms, financial and non-financial alike, the allowance for corporate equity (ACE) system, which reduces the penalization of equity with respect to debt financing, has been reinforced, encouraging capital strengthening. Lastly, changes to the taxation of hybrid capital fund-raising have removed the impediments to issuing subordinated securities.