Before reading this news you have to be informed about how government statistics operate in order to count the country overall tax burden. Well, they count the total tax revenue and this value is divided by the total GDP. Here is the trick.. as GDP they count official GDP plus the hidden economy (supposed as 17% by law since the ’80).
It means that the overall tax burden of 44.7% is calculated over who pay taxes and who do not. So the real fiscal oppression on who pay taxes (the real request of the government) goes up at 55%, at least.
And it is an average. Most entrepreneurs declare that the tax burden on them is not less than 70%.
I’d like to add that this last increase in tax burden is due to the last measures by Berlusconi and Monti: 80% of tax increase and 20% of public investment cuts. No cut of current expenses… Is this austerity?
(ANSA) – Rome, November 19 – The average Italian household’s tax bill will be 1,450 euros higher this year than it was in 2011, a study by business association Confesercenti said on Monday.
The study said premier Mario Monti’s austerity measures and other budget measures passed in the second half of 2011 by the administration of his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi have taken the country’s overall tax burden up to 44.7%.
The association, which represents small and medium-sized businesses, said this means Italy now has the third-highest tax burden in the European Union after Denmark and Sweden. It added that the burden is 5% higher than the EU average. “There doesn’t seem to be much room for optimistic assessments,” read the report. “According to government forecasts, the tax burden will go up again in 2013, climbing to 45.3%. That will be another nine million euros (in taxes) and a burden of 380 euros for each Italian family”. Confesercenti called on the government to drop a 1% increase in the top band of VAT that will take it up to 22% next year.
Editorial Staff