The good news, according to Tax-news.com, is that newly-elected Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi wants to reduce Italy’s top income tax rate from 43 percent to 33 percent. The bad news is that he made similar promises the last time he held office, but never delivered. One can only hope that this time he is more serious about improving Italy’s economy:

Italy’s evergreen centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi, is set to return for his third stint as the country’s Prime Minister following his recent election victory, and has promised to reduce Italy’s tax burden… Berlusconi has also pledged to axe other taxes, including an overtime levy, a tax on annual bonuses, and a tax on car ownership, and, before his five year term is out, he wants the top rate of income tax reduced from 43% to 33%. Ultimately, Berlusconi is targeting a reduction in the country’s overall tax burden to less than 40% of gross domestic product from its current level of more than 43%.