ROME, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Monday released a report on Italian economy, suggesting an array of reforms that it said would help the country avoid an economic slowdown.

       The Italian government's statistics entity has estimated that the country's economy grew 0.7 percent in 2023, slightly better than the EU estimate of 0.6 percent for the eurozone.

       In its report, the OECD said Italy was at risk of slower growth if it did not make certain reforms, including scaling back pensions for the wealthiest residents.

       "Reducing the generosity of pensions for high-income households could limit the increase in spending (on pensions), while maintaining adequate public services and social protections," the report said.

       The organization also said Italy should lower income taxes, raise the value-added tax and increase taxes on property. In specific terms, it said the country should reintroduce taxes on primary residences and increase taxes on inherited wealth.

       The OECD economic survey also said Italy risked seeing its ratio of debt to gross domestic product (GDP) increase from its already-high level due to higher spending stemming from its aging population exacerbated by paying interest on debt.

       "Public spending on aging-related and debt servicing costs as a share of GDP is expected to increase by about 4.5 percentage points between 2023 and 2040," the report said, calling for reforms to help reverse the trend. The OECD said Italy's debt was equivalent to around 140 percent of GDP, compared to an average of 90 percent for the EU as a whole.

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