This Aspen Junior Fellows meeting and debate session got underway with the observation that the importance of protecting the public economic order is underlined by the challenges currently faced by Italy in the public finance arena, which have impacted on the country’s development and its citizens’ standard of living. It was stressed that, in a modern economy, the value of lawfulness needs to be affirmed through regulatory certainty and high-quality rules, backed up by effective enforcement mechanisms. These three aspects were seen as enabling a cooperative interplay between citizens, businesses and institutions. But above all, in addition to the regulatory underpinnings of a fair and modern tax system, it was seen as necessary to continue to promote a culture of tax compliance among Italians by combating evasion and instilling a renewed spirit of good tax citizenship.
The complexity of a globalized economy, which has become increasingly financialized and tied to intangibles, has required the Guardia di Finanza (Italy’s dedicated border, tax and fraud police corps) to significantly step up its human, organizational and technological resources. This policing of Italy’s economic security interests is an integral part of the defense of the national security. Cases in point are the current concerns over the external threat posed by sovereign wealth funds, and the pervasiveness of organized crime within the Italian economy. Indeed, in respect of the latter, it was noted that, due in part to its transnational reach, organized crime represents a significant destabilizing factor and has the effect of crowding out honest businesses. The participants thus turned to consider the question of how to go about safeguarding the labor and savings protections and the principles of freedom of enterprise and ownership enshrined in Part I Title III of the Italian Constitution. It was suggested that, on the one hand, control efforts need to focus on ensuring optimal management of public resources by central and local authorities, whilst on the other, attention needs to be paid to maintaining the influx of revenue by combating tax evasion. Protections must also continue to be afforded to business operators through the adoption of innovative approaches that keep pace with market developments. It was acknowledged during the discussions that the growing internationalization of economic crime has led to Guardia di Finanza personnel also conducting policing activities abroad from Italian embassies (for instance, to clamp down on product piracy). Moreover, technological resources (and particularly ICT) are playing a significant and increasing role in ensuring that the Guardia’s operational decisions are better focused towards achieving set objectives.
The participants lastly draw attention to the motto prominently displayed on the Guardia di Finanza website, “United for legality”, which points to a commitment towards working together to rebalance the country’s public finances and foster a favorable environment in Italy for business, investment and savings. Discussions concluded with the finding that Italy’s prospects for achieving greater intergenerational solidarity and shared prosperity lie in the pursuit of that very same commitment.