WORLD PRESS TRENDS - World Association of Newspapers

ITALY
ADVERTISING EXPENDITURE & ECONOMIC DATA
Main economic indicators 1995-2001
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
1 US$= 0.93 Euro at 2001 rate
Gross Domestic Product (Euro billion)
at current prices 923 979 1,020 1,063 1,109 1,165 1,217
% change 8.1 6.1 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.1 4.4
at 2001 prices 1,070 1,091 1,114 1,138 1,168 1,197 1,217
% change 5.5 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.6 2.5 1.7
Gross Domestic Product per capita (Euro 000)
at current prices 16.1 17.1 17.7 18.5 19.2 20.2 21.0
at 2001 prices 18.7 19.0 19.4 19.8 20.3 20.7 21.0
Population
Millions 57.3 57.4 57.5 57.6 57.7 57.8 58.0
Consumer Price Index
2001=100 86.3 89.7 91.5 93.4 94.9 97.3 100.0
% change 5.3 4.0 2.0 2.0 1.7 2.5 2.7
Ad.spend as a % of GDP
0.52 0.53 0.56 0.59 0.63 0.69 0.64
Advertising Expenditure Growth (%)
at current prices 5.6 8.0 9.8 10.8 12.0 14.6 -3.2
at 2001 prices 0.3 3.8 7.6 8.6 10.2 11.8 -5.8
Source: IFS, ZenithOptimedia
Advertising expenditure
(Euro millions, in current prices)
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Newspapers 1,019 1,104 1,231 1,383 1,580 1,818 1,713 1,599 1,607 1,640 1,678
Magazines 773 806 845 936 1,029 1,158 1,206 1,110 1,109 1,133 1,160
Television 2,595 2,807 3,067 3,337 3,680 4,134 3,984
Radio 201 232 267 319 382 454 408
Cinema 17 19 25 36 42 49 54
Outdoor 171 190 227 255 284 318 328
Internet 0 0 0 7 29 125 103
Total 4,775 5,157 5,663 6,274 7,027 8,056 7,796 7,520 7,561 7,784 8,061
Source: 1995-2001 Media Key, 2002-2005 ZenithOptimedia
Notes: Excludes agency commission, excludes production costs, excludes classified advertising, after discounts,
magazines includes newspaper supplements.
Research
Circulation is audited by: ADS (Accertamento Diffusione Stampa),
which audits the circulation of about 52 daily newspapers under
voluntary agreements.
Readership is measured by: Audipress
Methodology: interviews with a sample of 50,000 individuals.
Taxes
VAT on: sales 4% advertising 20%
newsprint 4% plant 20%
composition 4% (standard VAT rate 20%)
Profits are taxed at 35% from 1 January 2003. At the beginning
of 1998 the ILOR tax of 16.2% of profits was abolished and
replaced by a new tax called IRAP, of 4.25% of turnover.
Outdoor advertising is taxed locally at a rate determined by the
size of population, at between Euro 8.26 and Euro 16.52 per
square metre per year. There are five population bands:
1: More than 500,000
2: Between 100,000 and 500,000
3: Between 30,000 and 100,000
4: Between 10,000 and 30,000
5: Under 300
Light-emitting sites are taxed at four times these rates. Soundemitting
static outdoor incurs a 250% supplement. Lightemitting
mobile (vehicular) posters are taxed at the basic rate,
with a 50% surcharge for illumination. Door-drops, leaflets etc.
attract a daily rate of Euro 2.06 to Euro 4.13, with a sound/light
surcharge of 50%. Point-of-sale ads for newspapers and
magazines are tax-exempt. Posters, bills and so on pasted to
municipal sites and street furniture attract a separate tax. For a
typical 70cmx100cm poster, these rates vary between Euro 1
and Euro 1.45 for the first 10 days, and Euro 0.3 to Euro 0.45 for
each subsequent five-day period.
Subsidies
Tax concessions are generally valid for all industrial sectors,
but revenue in southern Italy is free from local income taxes
when reinvested in the same activity (Bill No.64 of March 1,
1986, Article 14). There is no newsprint subsidy, but cheap loans
(2.45% compared to usual 4.90%) for capital investment are
available from financial institutions, and these are reimbursed
by the government. Machinery and buildings both qualify. Such
loans may not exceed Euro 7.75 million, and must be repaid in
ten years. Direct general subsidies to the newspaper industry
ended in 1987, and are now only available to newspapers
attached to parliamentary parties.
Direct general subsidies to the newspaper industry ended in
1987. Direct subsidies of about Euro 56.81 million are only
available to newspapers and periodicals attached to
parliamentary parties or published by cooperatives.
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WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERS - WORLD PRESS TRENDS 2003