consumption braking in Italy. The indicator of sales of goods and services published today by Confcommercio reports only a modest +0,7% for the first seven months of the year, down from +1,2% compared to the same period of 2015.
The tradesmen's association also reports that over the past 20 years the prices of forced consumption – such as rent, utility bills and fuel – have doubled, “eating up 40% of final consumption,” said the president of Confcommercio, Carlo Sangalli, on the sidelines of a conference.
Furthermore, according to the data processed by the Research Office, compared to ten years ago poor households doubled and people in absolute poverty increased by 177%, i.e. almost tripled, going from 1,66 million to almost 4,6 million. It is the highest number ever recorded.
The director of the Confcommercio Studies Office, Mariano Bella, then said that this year the GDP could grow by 1%, while estimates for i consumption they arrive “above 1%, between 1,1% and 1,2%”.
Finally, Sangalli asked the “government of find the courage to reduce the personal income tax rates as early as 2017”, because “the path is obligatory: to give certainty to families and businesses that taxes will decrease in a concrete and generalized way”.
