Italy posted a state sector budget deficit of around 60 billion euros ($71 billion) in 2005, compared with a deficit of 50.1 billion euros in 2004, the Treasury said on Monday. The 2005 deficit was less than the 65.187 billion euros forecast, the Treasury said in a statement.
The state sector borrowing requirement (SSBR) in December showed a surplus of around 20 billion euros, compared with a surplus of 14 billion euros in the same period of 2004.
The Treasury said the improvement in the December surplus compared with the previous year was due in part to the success of the social security agency INPS securitisation programme.
Italy's state sector budget usually registers a surplus in December due to partial early payment of taxes by companies for the following year.
The SSBR, a measure of the gap between central government spending and income, differs from the broader public sector, or "general government" accounts, which the Maastricht Treaty and the EU Stability and Growth Pact refer to when assessing countries' deficit performances.