Italy 2020 public finances make good start with Jan surplus

[ROME] Italy posted a state sector budget surplus of 3 billion euros in January, more than doubling compared with a surplus of 1.395 billion in the same month last year, the Treasury said on Monday.

January normally post a surplus due to twice-yearly tax-payment deadlines.

The annual improvement in state accounts was "almost exclusively due to an increase in tax revenues," the Treasury said in a statement.

The state sector borrowing requirement (SSBR), a measure of the gap between central government spending and income, differs from the broader "general government" accounts, which the European Union Stability and Growth Pact refers to when assessing countries' deficit performances.

Italy is targeting a general government deficit this year of 2.2 per cent of gross domestic product for a third consecutive year, well inside the EU's 3 per cent ceiling.

REUTERS