ROME : Italian taxpayers will be hit in the wallet with a wave of tax and tariff hikes as of February 1 representing an average additional burden of 98 euros (128 dollars) a month, three times the income tax cut promised by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government.

The tax rises were adopted by decree on January 21 and have yet to be published in the official government gazette, Italian newspapers reported on Sunday.

Consumers' associations have got out their calculators and estimate the rises will add 98 euros to the monthly bill for the average household.

"Families are at the end of their tether with incomes which have lost more than 24 per cent of their purchasing power in the past three years," they said.

"Against a cut in income tax equivalent to 20 euros a month, Italian families in 2005 will have to bear increases of 98 euros a month, which will leave 80 percent of the population 78 euros a month worse-off."

Berlusconi has embarked on income tax cuts worth 6.5 billion euros this year -- six billion for families and 500 million for companies -- representing 0.4 per cent of gross domestic product.

"Around 16.6 million of taxpayers (40.7 per cent of the population) will benefit from the cuts, with savings on average of 369 euros a year. For around 22.7 million taxpayers (59.3 percent) there will be no change in their contributions," according to an official economy and finance ministry document.

The latest hikes in tariffs and taxes decided by the government will affect all sectors, from purchasing or selling property to fishing and hunting permits and passport renewal.

They come on the heels of hefty increases in bank charges, electricity and gas bills as well as excise duty on alcohol and tobacco, the consumers' organisations noted.

- AFP