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Eurostat · Italy and EU countries, since 1995

How much do taxes and contributions weigh on GDP?

In 2025, taxes and social contributions were 42.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in Italy and 40.5% in the EU-27. This comparison is about the country, not the taxes paid by each person.

Eurostat, tax and social contribution revenue of general government. The tax burden is all taxes and social contributions divided by GDP (gross domestic product: the value of everything the country produces in a year).

Question 1 of 5

Taxes and contributions as a share of GDP in Italy, 202542.9%In the EU-27, 40.5%: Italy is 2.4 percentage points higher.
  1. Italy42.9%
  2. EU-2740.5%

Taxes and contributions (% of GDP)

The bars start from zero and share the scale of the third question. Same year for Italy and the EU-27; the gap in points is a portal calculation.

Details, method and source

Eurostat, gov_10a_taxag: taxes and social contributions (items D2_D5_D91_D61_M_D995) of general government (sector S13), as a percentage of GDP (PC_GDP), every year. The portal takes the latest year that Italy and the EU-27 both have. This is the tax burden computed by Eurostat with the same rules for every country: the ISTAT figure may differ by a few decimals. EU-27 means today’s 27 member states, also for the years when the Union had fewer.

Eurostat, gov_10a_taxag ↗

  1. Question 2 of 5

    Has it always been above the EU-27?

    Years in which the Italian tax burden was below the EU-27’s, from 1995 to 20259 of 31In 2025 Italy was 2.4 percentage points higher.

    Tax burden, % of GDP, year by year

    The values, year by year

    Ratios published by Eurostat; the count of years and the gaps in points are portal calculations, on the values to one decimal: level does not count as below. Where a value is missing the line stops, because a missing value is not zero.

    Details, method and source

    Same Eurostat series (gov_10a_taxag, D2_D5_D91_D61_M_D995, S13, PC_GDP). The portal counts the years with both the Italian and the EU-27 value, and among them those in which the Italian ratio was lower; no year is interpolated. A year with only the Italian value stays in the table with «n/a» for the EU-27.

    Eurostat, gov_10a_taxag ↗

  2. Question 3 of 5

    What about other countries?

    EU countries with a higher tax burden than Italy, 20254 of 26Highest: France, 45.9%. Lowest: Ireland, 22.6%. Higher does not mean better or worse: it is a ratio, not a judgement on services or policies.

    8 countries out of 27, those with the highest ratio, 2025

    The dashed line in every row is the EU-27: 40.5%. Italy minus EU-27: +2.4 points of GDP.

    1. France45.9%
    2. Denmark45.0%
    3. Belgium44.1%
    4. Austria43.7%
    5. Italy42.9%
    6. Finland42.4%
    7. Luxembourg42.1%
    8. Germany41.3%

    Taxes and contributions (% of GDP)

    A selection of the 27 EU countries, named in the chart title: all 27 are in the details table. A position describes a ratio, not a judgement on services or policies.

    Details, method and source

    Eurostat, gov_10a_taxag, same item and same unit for every country, in the latest year that all 27 countries and the EU-27 have. The chart shows the eight countries with the highest ratio (if Italy were not among them, the seven highest and Italy); when values are level the order follows the country code. The table has all 27 countries, from the highest ratio; the EU-27 and the euro area are aggregates and are not listed.

    Eurostat, gov_10a_taxag ↗

  3. Question 4 of 5

    How does it change during governments’ terms?

    Meloni, in office: from 2022 to 2025+1.3 pointsFrom 41.6% to 42.9% of GDP. The period is partial: the latest annual value is for 2025.

    The changes cover periods of different lengths, not a single year. They show how much the tax burden changed, not how much was caused by the government. A year can include several governments and appear in two cards.

    1. Berlusconi II

      11 June 2001 → 23 April 2005 · 46 months

      Comparison between 2001 and 2005

      • Italy−0.9 points

    2. Berlusconi III

      23 April 2005 → 17 May 2006 · 13 months

      Comparison between 2005 and 2006

      • Italy+1.0 points

    3. Prodi II

      17 May 2006 → 8 May 2008 · 24 months

      Comparison between 2006 and 2008

      • Italy+1.2 points

    4. Berlusconi IV

      8 May 2008 → 16 November 2011 · 42 months

      Comparison between 2008 and 2011

      • Italy+0.2 points

    5. Monti

      16 November 2011 → 28 April 2013 · 17 months

      Comparison between 2011 and 2013

      • Italy+2.1 points

    6. Letta

      28 April 2013 → 22 February 2014 · 10 months

      Comparison between 2013 and 2014

      • Italy−0.2 points

    7. Renzi

      22 February 2014 → 12 December 2016 · 34 months

      Comparison between 2014 and 2016

      • Italy−1.0 points

    8. Gentiloni

      12 December 2016 → 1 June 2018 · 18 months

      Comparison between 2016 and 2018

      • Italy−0.5 points

    9. Conte I

      1 June 2018 → 5 September 2019 · 15 months

      Comparison between 2018 and 2019

      • Italy+0.7 points

    10. Conte II

      5 September 2019 → 13 February 2021 · 17 months

      Comparison between 2019 and 2021

      • Italyunchanged

    11. Draghi

      13 February 2021 → 22 October 2022 · 20 months

      Comparison between 2021 and 2022

      • Italy−0.8 points

    12. Meloni

      22 October 2022 → in office · 38 months until 31 December 2025

      Comparison between 2022 and 2025 · partial term

      • Italy+1.3 points

    How much the Italian tax burden changed over the years shown, in percentage points. Portal calculation, using the same scale for every card.

    Details, method and source

    The reference years are when the government took office and when it ended. For each, we use that year’s value or, if missing, the latest earlier one. The length comes from the swearing-in and end dates published by the Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri; the years compared are a different thing, because the tax burden is published per calendar year. For the government in office the period is partial and reaches the latest year with the Italian value, even if the EU-27 does not have that year yet: only Italy is shown here. Changes are not scaled to a year and no government is ranked.

    Eurostat, gov_10a_taxag ↗ · Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, list of governments ↗

  4. Question 5 of 5

    How much do taxes on company income contribute?

    Taxes on company income in Italy, 20252.7% of GDPIn the EU-27, 3.2%: in Italy this item is 0.5 GDP points lower.

    It is one item of revenue: taxes on the income or profits of corporations (holding gains included). It does not include the other levies paid by businesses, such as social contributions, and it is not the statutory or effective rate paid by an individual company.

    Taxes on company income, % of GDP, 2025

    1. EU-273.2
    2. Spain3.2
    3. France3.2
    4. Germany2.8
    5. Italy2.7

    Corporate income taxes (% of GDP)

    Provisional data according to Eurostat: Germany. The tax burden of the previous questions already includes this item, together with the other taxes and the contributions paid by people and businesses. Same year for all: the latest the five have.

    Details, method and source

    Eurostat, gov_10a_taxag: item D51B_C2 (taxes on the income or profits of corporations, holding gains included), general government (sector S13), as a percentage of GDP (PC_GDP). The portal takes the latest year that Italy, Germany, France, Spain and the EU-27 all have; a provisional value carries the mark «p» next to the figure. The share of GDP compares a public revenue with the country’s economy.

    Eurostat, gov_10a_taxag ↗

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