Cgia, 'in Milan you pay more taxes but there are more services'

In Milan more taxes are paid than in any other part of Italy, on average 9,066 euros of Irpef in 2024, overtaking Rome by more than 1,500 euros, second with 7,536 euros. Behind the capital are Monza/Brianza with 7,100 euros, Bolzano with 6,975 and Bologna with 6,846. The national average stood at 5,788 euros. This is what the research office of the CGIA of Mestre (Venice) says.

The reason lies in the progressivity of taxes, so the higher the income, the higher the rate applied. The data on the average overall declared income confirm this: the Metropolitan City of Milan has 34,803 euros, Bologna 30,686, Monza-Brianza 30,578, Lecco with 29,906, Bolzano with 29,846, Parma with 29,771 and Rome with 28,643. Those who pay more can usually also count on more public services which tend to be of better quality.

Among the least "taxed" provinces there is Crotone with an average Irpef equal to 3,867 euros, Vibo Valentia with 3,836, South Sardinia with 3,743 and Ragusa with 3,689.

This year the tax burden in Italy is expected to stand at 43%, a slight increase compared to 42.9% in 2025. The trend has been growing since 2024 and the 2026 figure is the highest in the last 10 years. In 2022 the tax burden was 41.6%.

For the CGIA this does not mean that families and micro businesses have paid more taxes; indeed, for these categories the tax burden has been reduced thanks to the measures introduced in the last four years: from raising the flat tax threshold for self-employed workers to cutting the tax wedge, the benefit stands at 33.3 billion.

The tightening of the tax burden - reports the CGIA - was also fueled by some choices such as the suspension of the deductibility of specific cost items and the repeal of the ACE (Aid for Economic Growth), which guaranteed just over 3 billion per year until 2023. Starting from this year, banks and insurance companies, between the revision of the regulations on extra profits and the tightening of IRAP, will pay a total of 5.6 billion more to the treasury.

Paradoxically, the cut in the tax wedge on employee income also weighs heavily, not only through the reduction of the Irpef but also with the provision of a "bonus" in favor of people with an income of up to 20 thousand euros, which is worth approximately 0.2 percentage points of GDP and is accounted for as a greater expense, therefore "heavyening" the tax burden.

Therefore, compared to an overall cut of almost 18 billion, almost 4.5 are accounted for as an increase in public spending.