Eurostat data spell trouble for the Italian government: taxes have risen

Brussels – The Meloni government has increased taxes. Eurostat confirms this in data released today (October 31) on the tax burden as a percentage of the gross domestic product. Looking at the sum of taxes and net social contributions as a percentage of GDP,  as the European Statistical Institute did, what emerges is that between 2023 and 2024, the Italian rate rose from 41.4 percent to 42.6 percent, or +1.2 percentage points. Numbers that translated into figures mean fiscal pressure of EUR 937.1 billion, EUR 49.9 billion more than in 2023 volumes and levels. Broadening the scope, in comparison to 2022, the year the current executive took office, taxes and social security contributions in Italy increased by 100 billion euros over two years, from a total of 837.2 billion euros to 937.1 billion euros. ​

Not much changes if one looks at taxes alone, thus unbundled from social contributions. Total tax revenues stood at EUR 577 billion at the end of 2022, rising to EUR 619 billion in 2023, and to EUR 657.4 billion at the end of 2024. It will be for the government to explain these increases, not least because the Court of Auditors has already publicly acknowledged that higher revenues do not reflect the recovery of identified tax evasion: Of the over 72 billion euros to be recovered in 2024, only a small portion, 12.8 billion, has been collected, despite Brussels’ demands for progress from Italy.

The government can, however, appeal to the European figure, which indicates a general increase in the tax burden. In 2024, the total tax-to-GDP ratio stood at 40.4 percent in the EU, up from 39.9 percent in 2023. In absolute terms, tax and social contribution revenues in the EU increased by EUR 387 billion in 2024 compared to 2023, reaching EUR 7,281 billion. In the euro area, the tax-to-GDP ratio also increased from 40.5 percent in 2023 to 40.9 percent in 2024.