Excluding the extraordinary charges deriving from the cancellation of State Railways debt towards the State and from a European Court of Justice decision on VAT (which together cost nearly 2 percentage points of GDP), net borrowing fell to 2.5 per cent of GDP.
Excluding the effects of the economic cycle and a broader set of one-off measures, net borrowing fell by 1.5 percentage points to about 3 per cent of GDP. The improvement in the accounts was due to a significant increase in revenue. Taxes and social security contributions rose from 40.6 to 42.3 per cent of GDP.