It is true: the wealth of a country should be produced by entrepreneurs, companies, workers and citizens, not by the state. The latter is responsible for a part of this wealth produced which, in the form of taxes, it has the task of redistribute like a good family man to that part of the population that is in a state of need, necessity and risk (to use a definition of welfare state). In doing this the State must not oppress with a excessive tax burden those who produce and those who work by eliminating complexity and bureaucracy as much as possible. This, in a nutshell, is the thought of the President of the Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloniexpressed on the occasion of the presentation to the Chamber of Deputies of the tax reform. All of which can be shared and must be endorsed, but… If from these excellent statements we move on to what is actually happening in our country today, some reflection is necessary also because among Tir (income supplementary treatment – the former expanded “Renzi bonus”) decontribution, single universal allowance for children, increase in minimum pensions for that almost 47% of pensioners who have contributed with taxes and contributions in 67 years of life little or nothing, the level of social assistance has degenerated and it has lost the connotations for which it was designed.
How much money does the state spend?
So, for taxes, redistribution and excess assistance, some uncomfortable questions always supported by the numbers resulting from the processing of the data of theRevenue Agencyof the Ministry of Economy and Finance and of theIstat, it has to be done. The first question is: «How much money is redistributed in Italy and to whom?». Based on the sources cited we can calculate the value of the redistribution for the year 2021, the latest tax data available.
Let’s start with the healthcare whose total expenditure in 2021 was 117.834 billion equal to 1,989 euros for each Italian citizen (per capita). To guarantee health services to the 55.75% of Italians who pay a total of 12.9 billion in Irpef, 52.749 billion are needed which are paid mainly by the 13.94% of the population who declare incomes of 35 thousand euros and above and who pay 62.5% of the Irpef.
Social assistance and education
Then comes the expense social care paid by general taxation which in 2021 amounted to 144.215 billion, equal to 2,434.57 euros per capita. It is a per capita all theoretical and underestimated as incomes above 35 thousand euros do not benefit and which is used to guarantee all assistance to the family, to those without income, to assisted pensioners (about 47% of the 16.1 million pensioners), to the unemployed and to invalids with bonuses, subsidies And Basic income. To finance the part of expenditure not covered by the 42.59% of Italians without income and by those who pay a tax lower than 4,424 euros (health care plus assistance equals 4,424 euros) another 78.19 billion are needed which are mainly borne by the usual 13 .94% i.e. of 5.783 million taxpayers equal to 8,254,759 citizens and partly 22.10%, which are self-sufficient for healthcare with an average tax of 2,935 euros, contribute to assistance for 39%, i.e. 946 euros out of 2,435, leaving the rest to taxpayers higher. We could continue but we’ll stop atinstructionan expense equal to 4.1% of GDP, which is worth approximately 73.1 billion with a cost per capita Of 1,233 eurosthis time with a total charge of 13.94%, for a redistribution equal to 62.9 billion.
Redistribution effect
For these three functions alone, although of significant amount (pensions are excluded as the real ones paid by contributions are in balance), the total redistribution is equal to 193.84 billion out of approximately 598.941 billion in revenue net of social contributions (data relating to the Def 2021) of which 253 of direct taxes (the value relates to 2021 income); practically 75.6% of all direct taxes are redistributed which totally benefits the aforementioned 55.75% of the population. Then there’s everything else: public order, justice, administration, traffic etc., all at the expense of a few citizens and the public debt which increases frighteningly every year amidst total indifference. It is an enormous wealth of which the beneficiary citizens probably do not even realize when they listen to politicians who continue to propose subsidies and talk about inequalities for the sole purpose of being able to promise further benefits for gain electoral support.
Proving again, on the total public expenditure equal to 871.003 billion for 2021, the per capita expenditure is 14,561 euros per inhabitant and only 5.01% of citizens pay an Irpef of 15,042 to 177,701 euros and which therefore would be more than self-sufficient.
Load reduction
If you consider that the remaining direct taxes (Ires, Irap and Isost) they are mainly paid by just over 13% of taxpayers and that indirect taxes are proportionate to declared incomes, the redistribution percentage increases further. The redistribution is not only between citizens but also between geographical areas; Lombardy, with around 10 million inhabitants, pays more Irpef than the whole of Southern Italy (8 regions and over 20.2 million inhabitants).
In light of these data it still makes sense to talk about reducing the tax burden and redistribution to mitigate inequalities? Or would it be better to increase controls, talk about duties and not just rights and “take charge” of citizens who declare themselves in need (5.6 million absolute poor and 8.6 million relative poor) and assist them in order to lift them out of poverty?
A provocation: if we want to reduce (fake) poverty and increase those who work by a million, we suspend the ISEE for two years; citizenship income docet (650 thousand new employees).
