The answer lies in the progressivity of our tax system: the higher the income, the higher the rate applied. For this reason, the areas with the heaviest withdrawals are, in principle, also those in which you earn the most. The data on the average declared total income confirm this. At the top of the ranking of Italian provinces is the Metropolitan City of Milan, with 34,803 euros. Followed by Bologna with 30,686, Monza-Brianza with 30,578, Lecco with 29,906, Bolzano with 29,846, Parma with 29,771 and Rome with 28,643. These are practically the same entities that also occupy the top positions in the Irpef paid ranking.
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There are almost 43 million Italians who pay Irpef every year. The ones bearing the brunt of the system are employees, who with 24.1 million represent the largest portion, followed by 14.5 million pensioners. VAT numbers are more modest, just over 1.6 million, a figure which however does not include the self-employed to whom the flat tax applies, who follow different tax rules. On the map of the country, the Capital stands out: the Metropolitan City of Rome alone has 3 million taxpayers. Behind him is Milan with 2.5 million, while the podium is closed by Naples, which stops at 1.7 million.
For further information: Irpef advance, reduction in paycheck deductions for November 2026: here's how to request it
Among the least taxed provinces in the country are Crotone with an average Irpef paid by each taxpayer equal to 3,867 euros, Vibo Valentia with 3,836, Southern Sardinia with 3,743 and Ragusa with 3,689. Also in this case, the same reasoning as before applies but in reverse: the provinces where you pay less are also those where the income level is lower than the country average.
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This year the tax burden in Italy is expected to stand at 43%, a slight increase compared to the 42.9% recorded in 2025. The trend has been growing since 2024 and the 2026 figure is the highest in the last 10 years. But what has happened since the beginning of this legislature? In 2022, the year preceding the advent of the government led by Giorgia Meloni, the tax pressure was 41.6%, i.e. 1.4 points less than that expected for this year. Does this mean that families and micro businesses paid more taxes? Not necessarily. Indeed, for these categories the tax burden has been reduced by over 33 billion, thanks to the measures introduced in the last four years.
An important contribution has been made by new employees (through the payment of Irpef and social security contributions) who have grown overall by 1.1 million units in the last four years. Furthermore, from the analysis of the measures approved by the Meloni government, it can be seen that the greatest contribution to the growth in revenue is attributable to some large economic entities, in particular banks, insurance companies and large businesses, which have seen their tax burden grow.
Between 2022 and 2026, the CGIA Research Office reports, the revenue grew thanks to the expansion of employment and also to the numerous contractual renewals signed by the social partners which led to an increase in wages and, consequently, in tax and social security revenues. On a statistical level, the tightening of the tax burden was also fueled by some regulatory choices, such as the suspension of the deductibility of specific cost items from credit write-downs to goodwill quotas and the repeal of the ACE (Aid for Economic Growth), a tax discount that guaranteed just over 3 billion euros per year until 2023. Furthermore, 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 euros more to the treasury.
To complete the picture of the increased revenue there was, paradoxically, also the cut in the tax wedge on income from employment which occurred not only through the reduction of the Irpef (with the merging of the first two Irpef brackets and the introduction of a further deduction for incomes from 20 thousand to 40 thousand euros), but also with the provision of a "bonus" in favor of people with an income of up to 20 thousand euros. This "bonus" replaced the exemption of part of the social security contributions of these subjects. However, while the INPS decontribution translated into lower tax-contribution revenues, the bonus, which is worth around 0.2 percentage points of GDP, is now accounted for as a greater expense and therefore "heavies" the tax burden. Therefore, compared to an overall cut of almost 18 billion euros, almost 4.5 billion are accounted for as an increase in public spending. Consequently, if the pay packet has become heavier for low-paid employees, for the state budget a part of this reduction in taxes is now accounted for as an expense and no longer as a tax reduction.
The last four Budget Laws passed by the Meloni government have lightened the tax burden on a large part of families, self-employed people and micro-enterprises: from raising the flat tax threshold for self-employed workers, to cutting the tax wedge by merging the first two income brackets with the reduction of the rate to 23% and the reduction of the rate of the second bracket to 33%. Overall, these measures have reduced the burden of taxes on Italian families by 45.7 billion euros. However, considering the resources already allocated by previous governments and the temporary measures, the benefit for families stands at 33.3 billion.
For further information: Fiscal drainage, how much the invisible "fiscal drag" tax affects salaries and pensions
With the 2023 Budget Law, employees were able to benefit from a partial exemption on social security contributions of 4.3 billion euros for that year. With the 2024 Budget Law, the consolidation of the first Irpef bracket (application of the 23 percent rate up to 28 thousand euros), the raising of the employee deduction to 1,955 euros and the reductions in deductions in the case of incomes over 50 thousand euros have allowed a tax discount which in total amounts to almost 4.3 billion per year. But the most significant measure of 11 billion euros also taken with the 2024 Budget rewarded employees, thanks to a partial exemption on their social security contributions. With the 2025 Budget Law, the most important cut introduced in these four years of government occurred with the structural reduction of Irpef rates from 4 to 3 for employees, pensioners and self-employed workers and a series of other income deductions which allowed a tax relief of as much as 17.2 billion. Finally, with the 2026 Budget Law, the reduction of the rate relating to the second bracket from 35 to 33 percent allowed all Irpef taxpayers a reduction in taxation amounting to 2.9 billion.
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