A 66.5%. This is the accumulated inflation we have suffered between 2000 and 2025. In only two of these years, the value of money has remained or increased. The rest of the time, our savings have been losing purchasing power. And we don't have to look twenty-five years back to notice it: we only have to think about the last five. The price of homes, cars, or even eggs has skyrocketed.
The question is inevitable: have salaries also risen by 66%? For many people, the answer is clear. It is increasingly difficult to make ends meet. The problem is not just what we earn, but what we can buy with what we earn. And this is where inflation becomes a silent tax.
For the State, on the other hand, inflation is very profitable. VAT automatically increases because products are more expensive and, in addition, income tax is not adjusted to inflation. Deflating income tax would mean updating tax brackets according to the increase in prices, preventing a salary increase intended only to compensate for inflation from leading you to pay more taxes without actually gaining purchasing power. For example, if a bracket starts at 20,000 euros, with 3% inflation, this threshold should be updated to 20,600 euros. In countries like Germany, France, or Portugal, this is already done. Here, it is not.
And there is another problem: inflation particularly penalizes savers. Leaving money idle in a current account is seeing how, year after year, it is worth less. Therefore, today investing is no longer just an option to make money; it is a necessity to try not to lose it, and there are as many options as the risk you are willing to take. Because when money loses value and salaries do not keep pace, we do not stay the same. We get poorer.
