High salaries for Italian lawmakers stirs anger

High salaries for Italian lawmakers stirs anger

Italy's bloated public sector and the privileges of its political elite have come under fire as the country battles its debt crisis with tax hikes, labor market and pension reforms that are hurting ordinary Italians.

International markets have punished Italy in recent months for failing to come up with a coherent strategy to deal with its €1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion) debt mountain. That drove up the borrowing rates for the eurozone's third-largest economy and effectively forced Silvio Berlusconi from office.

Premier Mario Monti has vowed to trim the cost of governing as part of his austerity measures, and has renounced his own salary as premier and economy minister.

Enrico Giovannini, the head of Italy's national statistics bureau Istat and the president of the commission, said clearly each country has different needs.

The findings, which the authors freely admit are incomplete and provisional, showed that a lawmaker in Italy's lower Chamber of Deputies earns €11,283 a month followed by the €8,503 for a Dutch lawmaker, down to as little as €2,813 for one in Spain. The Italian salary is fully taxed, but there are perks that are either more generous than, or similarly generous in other countries: €3,503 a month tax-free in cost of living allowances and free travel on trains, plains, boats and Italian highways. Only German lawmakers have a higher cost of living allowance at nearly €4,000, while Belgian lawmakers get none.

 

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