Italian study shows richest 7% pay lower tax rate than middle class

Research by the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, using Bank of Italy data, finds that the top 7 % of earners in Italy face a lower effective tax burden than the median taxpayer. The study reports an effective rate of about 32.6 % for the richest 0.1 % of the population, compared with roughly 45 % for a typical middle‑class worker, indicating a regressive tax structure for high‑income households.

The authors attribute the disparity to the composition of wealthy income—mainly capital gains and asset returns—that benefit from favorable tax treatment. They propose raising taxes on capital and wealth to restore progressivity and reduce income inequality, modelling several reform scenarios that could increase fiscal revenue and improve equity.