Italian firms taxed at 32% versus 15% for global web giants

A study by the CGIA research office in Mestre compared the effective tax rates paid by Italian companies with those of the world’s 25 largest web corporations. In the 2023 fiscal year, firms in Abruzzo paid an average tax rate of 31.7%, while those in Friuli‑Venezia Giulia faced a 32.9% rate. Both figures are more than double the 14.8% average rate reported by the big‑tech multinationals, which benefit from profit shifting to lower‑tax jurisdictions.

The analysis, covering regional taxable bases of €4.755 billion in Abruzzo and €5.2 billion in Friuli‑Venezia Giulia, shows that small and medium‑size enterprises bear a disproportionate fiscal burden. The CGIA attributes the gap to international tax avoidance by large digital firms, a practice unavailable to local businesses.