Compulsory expenditure: the growing burden on the household budget according to Confcommercio

The weight of compulsory expenditure remains substantially stable at around 42%, the same as in 2023 and an increase of more than 5 percentage points since 1995. This year, out of a total of about EUR 21,800 per capita consumption per year, more than EUR 9,000 is going to mandatory expenditure with a plus of EUR 348 over 2019. Among these expenses, it is the housing item (4,830 euro) that is the main one, within which a significant weight - although constantly decreasing since 1995 - comes from the energy, gas and fuel aggregate with 1,721 euro. Amplifying the size and, therefore, the weight of compulsory expenditure is also the dynamics of prices, which show a notable divergence from that of other goods and services: between 1995 and 2024, in fact, the price index of compulsory goods (+122.7%) grew more than twice as fast as that of marketable goods (+55.6%), a dynamic also influenced by a deficit of competition between companies supplying compulsory goods and services. This is revealed by the annual analysis of the Confcommercio Studies Office on the compulsory expenditure of Italian households between 1995 and 2024.

Inflation is weighing heavily while the quantities in the shopping trolley are shrinking less than proportionally, so the aggregate of compulsory expenditure is growing in the household budget as a whole. Above all, according to traders, there will be no return to the approximately 40 per cent of 2019. Thus, the valuation of the share of compulsory expenditure for 2023 rises from 41.5% to the current 42.2%, with a moderate reduction, however to 41.8%, for 2024. With regard to the next two-year period, the return of marketable services is estimated at over 21% thanks to active tourists, Italians in Italy and foreigners in Italy, it is understood that the space for marketable goods, those that largely pass through physical shops, is destined to shrink further. The commercial structures that produce proximity services in our cities, and especially in the historic city centres, will come under even more pressure, also taking into account the continued development of online trade, which is expected to strengthen.

"Compulsory expenses, especially those related to housing, increasingly penalise household budgets and consequently reduce consumption,' comments Carlo Sangalli , president of Confcommercio -. Consumption is the main component of domestic demand. In order to support them, we need to confirm the unification of Irpef rates and progressively and structurally reduce the tax burden'.

In fact, the consumption of obligation at constant prices is reduced by various components, starting with energy. Of course, the obligates also cover basic household needs, such as spending on healthcare. One understands that within the aggregate there are long-term trends such as the ageing of the Italian population, a phenomenon that is undoubtedly positive and welcome, but one that demands investment and structural governance so that expenses such as healthcare or housing are not precluded for anyone.