Italy's national debt increased by almost 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in May and hit a historic high of 2.816 trillion euros, the Bank of Italy said on Friday
ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2023) Italy's national debt increased by almost 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in May and hit a historic high of 2.816 trillion euros, the Bank of Italy said on Friday.
Italy's sovereign debt first surpassed 2.8 trillion in April.
"Yet another historic record! It is a great misfortune for our country, considering the constant growth of interest rates, which causes the increase in the national debt that the Italians have to pay from their taxes," National Consumer Union chairman Massimiliano Dona said, commenting on the bank's statement.
If the current national debt was divided among all Italians, each individual would owe 47,682 euros and each family would owe almost 107,500 euros, he added.
"It is impossible to cut taxes while the national debt remains beyond control. We need to change the tax structure by helping low-income social groups and raising taxes on financial incomes and excess profits," Dona said.
Italian financial experts said earlier this year that as a result of the pandemic-related restrictions introduced by the government, Italy's national debt had reached almost 155% of the country's GDP in 2020.�After the restrictions were lifted, the economy started to grow again and public spending on supporting small businesses and vulnerable population groups was diminished. However, the conflict in Ukraine and energy crisis resulted in a decrease in Italy's GDP, and the national debt surged.
According to the latest data from the EU statistical office Eurostat, Italy's national debt was 144% of GDP between October and December 2022.
