The tax burden fell and incomes
and purchasing power both rose in 2017, national statistics
agency ISTAT said Friday.
ISTAT also said that inflation was steady in December, public
finances improved in 2017, and both the tax burden and tax
evasion were down.
Italian household income rose 0.7% in the third quarter of
2017 over the second quarter and by 2.1% over the third quarter
of 2016, ISTAT said Friday.
Purchasing power rose by 0.8% and 1.1% respectively, the
statistics agency said.
As for companies, the profits of non-financial firms was
41.3% in the third quarter, 0.4 percentage points lower than the
previous quarter.
The investment rate, on the other hand, were 0.5 percentage
points higher at 20.7%.
Premier Paolo Gentiloni tweeted "encouraging data on public
accounts, tax burden coming down, purchasing power of Italian
families finally growing. Results to be improved, not to
be wasted".
Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan commented on the good
ISTAT data Friday by saying they "show that we're on the right
track: less deficit, less tax evasion, less fiscal pressure".
Italian inflation was steady at 0.9% in December, ISTAT said
in preliminary estimates Friday.
The monthly rise was 0.4%, the statistics agency said. Air
transport costs were up 27.3%.
The prices of the most frequently bought goods in Italy's
inflation 'trolley' rose 1.5% in 2017 over the previous year,
ISTAT said Friday.
This compared to a 0.1% gain in 2016, the statistics agency
said.
In December they rose by 1.3%, compared to November's 1.6%,
the agency said.
Consumer prices began rising again in 2017, up 1.2% after a
1.1% fall in 2016 that took Italy into deflation, ISTAT said
Friday.
Prices thus returned to the levels of 2013, the statistics
agency said.
The price rises were driven by increases in the prices of
energy and food, ISTAT said.
Italy's budget deficit was 2.3% in the first nine months of
2017, 0.2 percentage points lower than the same period in 2016,
ISTAT said Friday.
This was the best figure since 2007, the statistics agency
said.
The third-quarter deficit was down to 2.1%, the agency said,
compared to 2.4% in the third quarter of 2016.
Italy's tax burden fell 0.4 percentage points in the third
quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016, falling to
40.3%, its lowest since 2011, ISTAT said Friday.
The nine-month figure, at 40.2%, is also the lowest in six
years, the statistics agency said.
Finally, ISTAT said that Italian households' inclination to
save rose 0.5 percentage points in the third quarter of 2017,
rising to 8.2%.
The rise followed four straight falls.
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