Italy Scraps Road Tax for Most Cars as Election Nears
The one-year exemption covers all motorbikes and more than 70% of small- and medium-sized cars, the cabinet office said.
- On Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the government will abolish the annual road tax for 14.5 million cars and motorbikes, calling it one of the taxes "most hated by Italians."
- The decision comes as the government faces a neck-and-neck election race next year while Italy struggles with public debt peaking at almost 139% of GDP and rising fuel prices from the war in Iran.
- A draft decree seen by Reuters indicates the exemption runs one year between January 1 and December 31, 2027, covering all motorbikes and over 70% of small and medium-sized cars at a cost of €2.36 billion.
- Rossano Sasso, a senior aide to National Future leader Roberto Vannacci, criticized the measure, stating "It's like treating pneumonia with a throat lozenge" and claiming it fails to address broader economic volatility.
- Coalition parties welcomed the tax-cutting agenda, though critics dismissed the policy as a distraction from economic challenges, positioning it as a strategic move ahead of next year's national ballot.
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The decision of the Council of Ministers today: abolished the stamp, in 2027, for small and medium-power cars (up to 80 kW) and for all motorcycles. To compensate the Regions for the lack of revenue, the State plans to transfer, next year, funds for 2,3 billion euros
With a surprise move, he introduced an exemption that will cover small and medium-power cars and all motorcycles, but with limits
"Today, the government is abolishing one of the taxes that Italians hate the most," said Meloni.
Italy's Meloni scraps road tax for most cars as election nears
ROME, Sept 16 - Italy is abolishing road tax for 14.5 million cars and motor-bikes, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday, in a move estimated to cost the country's strained state coffers more than €2 billion ($2.31 billion). Read more at straitstimes.com.
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