San Marino

chief of state:

Co-chiefs of State Captain Regent Valeria CIAVATTA and Captain Regent Luca BECCARI (for the period 1 April-1 October 2014)

head of government:

Secretary of State for Foreign and Political Affairs Pasquale VALENTINI (since 5 December 2012)

cabinet:

Congress of State elected by the Great and General Council for a five-year term; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• co-chiefs of state (captains regent) elected by the Grand and General Council for a six-month term;
• election last held in March 2014 (next to be held in Septermber 2014);
• secretary of state for foreign and political affairs elected by the Grand and General Council for a five-year term;
• election last held on 11 November 2012 (next to be held by November 2017)

election results:

• Anna Maria MUCCIOLI and Gian Carlo CAPICCHIONI elected captains regent;
• percent of legislative vote - NA;
• Pasquale VALENTINI elected secretary of state for foreign and political affairs;
• percent of legislative vote - NA

note: the popularly elected parliament (Grand and General Council) selects two of its members to serve as the captains regent (co-chiefs of state) for a six-month period;

they preside over meetings of the Grand and General Council and its cabinet (Congress of State), which has nine other members, all are selected by the Grand and General Council; assisting the captains regent are nine secretaries of state; the secretary of state for Foreign Affairs has some prime ministerial roles

highest court(s):

Council of Twelve or Consiglio dei XII (consists of 12 members); note - the College of Guarantors for the Constitutionality and General Norms functions as San Marino's constitutional court

judge selection and term of office:

judges elected by the Grand and General Council from among its own to serve 5-year terms

subordinate courts:

first instance and first appeal criminal, administrative, and civil courts; justices of the peace or conciliatory judges

San Marino Common Good:

Christian Democrats or PDCS [Marco GATTI]; Party of Socialists and Democrats or PSD [Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI]; Popular Alliance or AP [Stefano PALMIERI]

Entente for the Country:

Socialist Party or PS [Augusto CASALI]; Union for the Republic or UPR [Giovanni LONFERNINI]; Sammarinese Union of Moderates or USDM [Romeo MORRI and Glauco SANSOVINI]

Active Citizenship:

United Left or SU [Alessandro ROSSI]; Civic 10 [Mateo CIACCI]

other:

Civic Movement R.E.T.E. (Network) [Gloria ARCANGELONI]; For San Marino [Emilio DELLA BALDA]; San Marino 3.0 [Simone DELLA VALLE]

San Marino's economy relies heavily on tourism, the banking industry and the manufacture and export of ceramics, clothing, fabrics, furniture, paints, spirits, tiles, and wine. The manufacturing and financial sectors account for more than half of San Marino's GDP. The per capita level of output and standard of living are comparable to those of the most prosperous regions of Italy.

The economy benefits from foreign investment due to its relatively low corporate taxes and low taxes on interest earnings. The income tax rate is also very low, about one-third the average EU level. San Marino does not issue public debt securities; when necessary, it finances deficits by drawing down central bank deposits.

San Marino's economy has been contracting since 2008, largely due to weakened demand from Italy - which accounts for nearly 90% of its export market - and financial sector consolidation. Difficulties in the banking sector, the recent global economic downturn, and the sizeable decline in tax revenues have contributed to negative real GDP growth.

The government has adopted measures to counter the economic downturn, including subsidized credit to businesses and is seeking to shift its growth model away from a reliance on bank and tax secrecy. San Marino continues to work towards harmonizing its fiscal laws with EU and international standards.

In September 2009, the OECD removed San Marino from its list of tax havens that have yet to fully adopt global tax standards, and in 2010 San Marino signed Tax Information Exchange Agreements with most major countries. In 2013 San Marino's Government signed a Double Taxation Agreement with Italy, but a referendum on EU membership failed to reach the quorum needed to bring it to a vote.