Censis-Confcooperative: underground economy at 197.6 billion, 9.2% of GDP

An underground economy worth 197.6 billion euros, equal to 9.2% of the country's GDP which deprives each citizen of 3,350 euros and burns wealth equivalent to the entire production of Emilia-Romagna or over a year's worth of healthcare spending. This is what emerges from the Censis-Confcooperative Focus, which sheds light on a chasm of 2.7 million irregular workers and over 100 billion a year in tax and social security evasion.

"Undeclared work is an economy that cannot be seen or taxed" and "takes away 3,350 euros from every Italian, from newborns to the elderly", underlines Maurizio Gardini, president of Confcooperative. "With the same sum, we could cover, for over a year, national health spending which is worth around 142 billion (per year). Behind these numbers, there is another reality.

Unacceptable: 2.7 million people of irregular workers, exploited and paid almost half of their regular colleagues".

There are three drivers of this invisible economy, according to the survey. Three gears that do not all weigh equally: 108.2 billion euros (+21.6% from 2019) from under-declaration.

They are businesses, professionals and self-employed workers who declare less to the tax authorities than they actually earn, evading taxes on production, income and VAT; 77.2 billion euros (+4% from 2019) from irregular work, i.e. unregistered or only partially declared employment relationships; 12.2 billion euros from other components. Soi deals with undeclared rent and undeclared tips in restaurants, hotels and personal services, essentially stable over the period.

The message is clear: the growth of the Italian underground economy is increasingly driven by under-declaration of income, rather than by illegal work alone.