February public debt rises (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, April 15 - February public debt rose 21.5 billion euros to 2.215 trillion euros, the Bank of Italy said Friday. The increase was due to a 10.7-billion-euro rise in financial requirements for the month and an 11.2-billion-euro increase in Treasury liquid assets, to 74.7 billion euros. The February tax take was equal to 27.5 billion euros (+3.4% or 0.9 billion euros). The tax take increased by 6.6% or 3.8 billion euros to 61.8 billion euros in the first two months of the year, the central bank said. As well, the Bank of Italy said 2015 public debt was revised upward by 1.8 billion euros to 2.171 trillion euros - from 132.6% to 132.7% of GDP - confirming a 2.136-trillion-euro increase over 2014. The increased figures are due to the fact that banking system liabilities were included in the public debt calculations.