Peace Tax Bills in Seven Countries
by Erik Th. Hummels, 1997

Conscience and Peace Tax International

7. ITALY

On May 11 1989 a bill is introduced in the Italian Chamber of Representatives by MP Guerzone and others¹.

The intent of the bill is to make a provision for a tax option with respect to military expenditure, limitation of arms expenditure and the establishment of a Department for Unarmed Civil Defence.

In section 1 paragraph 1 is prescribed that each physical person may exercise an option with respect to a percentage equivalent to the fraction in which the military defence budget is the numerator and the total state budget the denominator.

According to section 1 paragraph 2 the taxpayer has to declare on his tax return that he wishes that the aforementioned percentage of his tax money will be spend for unarmed civil defence instead of for military defence.

In section 1 paragraph 3 unarmed civil defence is defined as defence against any external or internal armed attack on the territory, citizens or constitutional system of the republic, such defence to be organized using nonviolent means.

A Deparment for Unarmed Civil Defence will be established under the rule of the Prime Minister. This Department will have the tasks inter alia to draw up plans for unarmed civil defence and to coordinate their implementation, the research and experimental work in this domain, the necessary training and education of the population and to carry out studies designed gradually to replace defence with unarmed civil defence.

The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have to report to parliament on the expenditure according to this bill, in annex to the annual budgettary report.

The bill has never been discussed in parliament, neither has the second bill been discussed in parliament, the bill proposed in 1993, the same text as the first mentioned bill².

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