The tax burden on the 73 million vehicles present in our country amounts to 42,8 billion euros. A figure to make the veins tremble in the wrists that, according to the CGIA, relegates motorists to the most harassed taxpayer categories in Italy. Just to give an idea of the size of the levy, it should be remembered that the revenue deriving from the taxes that affect all properties in the country amounts to just over 40 billion euros.
And despite the heavy crisis that has hit up to 3 years ago all the car industry, between the 2009 and the 2016 (latest available data published by the National Automotive Industry Chain Association) the tax revenue on cars increased by 10,1 per cent (in absolute terms equal to 6,7 billion), while inflation growth was 9 per cent.
"The voice that most affects the pockets of Italian drivers - explains the coordinator of the CGIA Studies Office Paolo Zabeo - is that of taxes and excise taxes on fuels. Ben 34,8 billions of euros, in fact, equal to just under half of the total 73 billion, we are taken at the time when we go to fill up our car. "
The CGIA are also keen to specify that for every liter of diesel fuel we buy at the pump, about 63 percent of the price is attributable to the tax burden. For every liter of gasoline, however, the incidence rises to 66 percent.
In addition to the taxation on fuels, among the tax items that weigh the most on the owners of a vehicle we point out the VAT on the maintenance and repair / purchase of spare parts, accessories and tires. In 2016, this levy weighed on the pockets of Italians for 10,2 billion euros (equal to 14 percent of total expenditure). The VAT on the purchase of motor vehicles, on the other hand, cost just over 7 billion euros (9,8 per cent of the total), while the car tax assured the coffers of the regional administrations 6,6 billion (9,1 per percent of the total). Taxes on parking and fines guaranteed revenues of 5,6 billion (7,7 per cent of the total), those on motor liability insurance premiums almost 3,9 billion euro (5,3 per cent of the total). On the motorway tolls the tax authorities collected 2 billion, while the registration tax allowed the provincial administrations to collect 1,7 billion. Finally, taxes and excise duties on lubricants cost motorists 1 billion euros (see Table 1).
The secretary of the CGIA, Renato Mason, states: "It should however be emphasized that the increase in revenue attributable to some items - such as VAT on the purchase of vehicles, motorway tolls and the provincial transcription tax - occurred in the last years following the economic recovery of the automotive market which has marked very important results with regard to new registrations ".
The CGIA also raises another reflection. The high rate of motorization present in Italy is partly attributable to the low quality and efficiency of urban public transport. From the CGIA they report that a research carried out in recent months by The European House-Ambrosetti argues that the country system could save up to 12 billion euros a year, through a better organization of mobility in the country's 14 metropolitan cities. In essence, this situation forces all of us to bear a series of very heavy additional costs. First of all as citizens, because public transport works little and badly and is a harbinger of inefficiencies; secondly as motorists, because we do not have a decent public mobility system and we are forced to use our vehicle, suffering, among other things, a terrifying tax burden.
With regard to the territorial distribution of vehicles in the country, however, the regions where the concentration is highest are also those with the greatest number of inhabitants. Consequently, we can say with good approximation that these are also the realities where the total tax revenue is more consistent than elsewhere. Lombardy has the highest number of vehicles: in 2016 (latest data available) over 6,7 million were on the road. Lazio follows with just over 4,1 million, Campania with almost 3,8 million, Sicily with 3,6 million and Veneto with just under 3,5 million (see Tab. 2).
