Some 45% of Italians income under 15,000 (3)

(ANSA) - Rome, March 28 - The economy ministry said Wednesday that some 45% of Italian taxpayers declared earnings of up to 15,000 euros in 2017 for the 2016 tax year. Their payments made up just 4.2% of the total income tax collected, it said. The ministry said that over 10 million Italians paid no income tax for the 2016 tax year because their declared annual earnings did not reach the minimum threshold. It added that the figure went up to 12.3 million if people whose income tax payments are totally compensated by an 80-euro-a-month-tax-bonus were included.
    The ministry said 35,000 people, 0.1% of taxpayers, earned over 300,000 euros in 2016. It added that around 50% of taxpayers were in the 15,000-50,000 euro income band and their taxes made up 57% of the total. It said 5.3% were on over 50,000 euros for 39% of the total income tax paid.
    The ministry said the average annual income declared in 2017 was 20,940 euros, up 1.2% on the previous year.