Per una storia della Scienza delle finanze in Italia

The history of public finance in Italy is rather complex. In the first place there is the existence of a specific theory, the collective benefit, which is unique in the world. In the second place this theory was internationally very well known. In the third place the theory, in which the imposable basis is structurally internal to a nation, is very interesting now, when the incomes of a nation are also taxed outside its borders. National taxation, however, means the absence of formal progressivity. Nevertheless progressivity may be searched for through different rates on different kinds of income, and by the formal progressivity of social contributions, which are an important national source in all countries. The national bases may be coupled with an effectively international basis, i.e., on interests and on extra-profits. The discussion of the history of public finance thus becomes more compelling. In addition to this School, in Italy there were the Cosciani and Forte Schools, which discussed financial activity in depth, in the latter case also on international standards. Then comes the actual School, which is in no way original, being no different from the rest of world. It is argued that such a School is not even a School, since it depends on Economics, which has become totally insignificant. It is based in fact on the neoclassical theory of decreasing returns, which is not representative, and has abandoned Keynesian theories, when the need for the latter is dramatically evident.