Confcommercio, forced expenditure of almost 9 thousand euros a year: “Holds down consumption” – Corriere.it

In 2023, families will spend 8,755 euros for homes, health care, energy and transport, i.e. the mandatory expenses. Among these expenses, the main share is represented by the housing item (5,062 euros) within which a significant weight comes from energy, gas and fuel with 1,976 euros, a value which, on average in 2023, reaches an incidence on total consumption of 9.4 %. According to a survey by the Confcommercio Research Office, according to which the share of forced expenditure on household consumption stood at 41.5% in 2023, down compared to 42.7% in 2022, but with an increase in incidence of nearly 5 points from 1995 to today.

The price race

The price component amplifies the size of obligatory expenses: between 1995 and 2023, in fact, while the average price of marketable goods grew by almost 53%, the price of obligatory expenses increased by 120% with the energy component even increasing by almost 175%. These trends reduce the well-being of consumers and curb the propensity to consume with inevitable depressive effects on the already weak dynamics of the GDP, highlights Confcommercio.

Sangalli: Cut tax wedge

The cost of energy, despite the reductions and government interventions, remains high and, together with the other compulsory expenses, has a heavy impact on household budgets. The risk of a structural reduction in consumption which could curb economic growth, says the president of Confcommercio, Carlo Sangalli, commenting on the research published by the association on obligatory expenditure. To avoid this – adds Sangalli – it is necessary to intervene more decisively on the reduction of the tax wedge and inefficient public spending.