Never seen since 1995 – QuiFinanza

The balance between income and savings has always been a cornerstone of the economic health of the individual and the nation, especially for the Italians, who have always been considered the “ants” of Europe. But in recent years, despite the increase in disposable income, Citizens struggle to save a large portion of their income.

This trend was highlighted by the report of the National Institute of Statistics (stateIt makes us reflect on the financial stability of families and its repercussions on the national economy as a whole.

At this moment, Italians can no longer save

But here is the data in detail. During 2023, Italian families have had to deal with it a large increase in taxes, An increase of 24.6 billion euros compared to the previous year, according to what was reported by Istat. This increase was mainly driven by Irpef growth (+10.2%) and withholding taxes on capital income and managed savings (+23.0%).

At the same time, the balance of redistributive interventions resulted in a loss to families of €118.8 billion, an increase of €16.5 billion compared to 2022. In contrast, companies recorded an increase in taxes on production of €2.2 billion (+7.5%) over the same period.

Household savings: unprecedented since 1995

Although household disposable income increased by 4.7% in 2023, purchasing power decreased by an inflation-adjusted 0.5%. Final consumer spending grew by 6.5% between theHouseholds' tendency to save decreased to 6.3%reaching an all-time low since 1995. The household investment rate was 9.0%, down from 9.2% in 2022, while the business profit rate fell to 44.8%, despite value added growing by 6.2%.

In 2023, aid to companies reaches 55.2 billion euros

Italian companies continued to benefit from significant support for production activity in 2023, receiving €23.8 billion in production subsidies (-12.1% compared to 2022) and €31.4 billion in investment subsidies, a large part of which is linked to the Transition Plan 4.0. Overall, the total aid provided by Italy and European institutions amounted to 55.2 billion euros, as explained by Istat.

Why can't we save anymore?

Italians face an increasing challenge in saving due to several economic factors that have contributed to making it more difficult to allocate a significant portion of their income.

to'General increase in prices This led to a rise in the cost of money, in addition to higher interest rates raised by the European Central Bank. This phenomenon contributed Erosion of the purchasing power of Italian citizensWages were not increased sufficiently to compensate for the increase in the prices of goods and services. As a result, families find themselves having to spend more to meet their daily needs, while saving less and less money.

This trend is evidenced by P.STrend in savings rate over the yearswhich from 2010 onwards has remained consistently below 9%, except for the two-year pandemic period 2020-2021, during which the propensity to save temporarily rose, due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, to 15%, 6% and 13.6%.