Italian deficit to GDP drops to 2.8%, says Istat

Tax burden drops slightly in 2013 from previous year

(ANSA) - Rome, April 7 - Italy's deficit-to-GDP ratio in 2013 was 2.8% by some measures, and 0.1 percentage points below the 2012 average, statistical agency Istat said Monday. However, when certain financial transaction are included, the ratio reached 3% - consistent with European Union standards used to ensure national budgets remain at or below that ratio. The issue is important because Italy has been under considerable pressure from the European Commission, which has warned that it would be monitoring Italy's macroeconomic imbalances and efforts to reform these.

Italy is respecting all budget commitments it has made to the European Union, Premier Matteo Renzi has said. He has also warned, however, that Italy's deficit ratio for 2014 may be higher than the 2.6% it was forecast to come in at this year, while remaining within the 3% limit.

Meanwhile, Istat has also announced that the 2013 average annual tax burden in Italy was 43.8%. The fourth quarter figure was 0.3 percentage points lower than the same period in 2012 and averaged 51.5% - higher than the annual average because tax payments are often concentrated at year-end which pushes up the quarterly average for the final three months of the year, the agency said.