Breaking News: Stamp Duty Also Introduced on Pizza | €4 to be paid directly at the pizzeria: “Pay or eat unleavened bread”

More and more taxes are being added, now it's going too far.

In recent years, some curious taxes have been introduced in Italy that have raised concerns and debates. One of the most discussed was the so-called shadow tax, applied by some municipalities to commercial activities whose signs or protruding structures cast shadows on public land. Bars, restaurants and shops found themselves paying a tax for the simple fact that awnings and billboards obscured part of the street.

Another particular tax is the noise tax, applied in some tourist locations. This tax affects bars and nightclubs based on the decibels produced by music or customers. The intent is to protect residents from excessive noise emissions, but it has generated controversy among business owners, who have found themselves having to measure the volume of the evenings with professional instruments.

In the agricultural sector, the tax on the collection of fallen olives, imposed in some regions for those who use mechanical methods that cause the fruit to fall before the traditional harvest, has caused discussion. The aim is supposed to protect the quality of the oil, but for many producers it has only been a further bureaucratic burden.

Among the most bizarre taxes is the tax on single-use plastic (Plastic Tax), aimed at disposable packaging and containers. Although motivated by environmental purposes, it has hit small businesses and artisans hard, especially in the food and packaging sectors, sparking a heated debate between ecology and economic sustainability.

A new “tax” on pizza?

Pizza , a symbol of Italian cuisine and a convivial meal par excellence, has become increasingly less accessible in recent years. In six years, the average cost of a pizza with a drink has increased by +18.3%, reaching a national average of 12.14 euros. In fact, it is as if a tax on pizza had been introduced , which affects the wallets of millions of Italians. Surprisingly, the most expensive cities are not the large metropolises, but places like Reggio Emilia (17.58 euros), Siena (17.24 euros) and Macerata (16.25 euros), with peaks that reach 28 euros in Palermo for gourmet versions.

On the contrary, the cheapest cities are Livorno (8.75 euros), Reggio Calabria (9.15 euros) and Pescara (9.37 euros), where a dinner in a pizzeria is still under 10 euros. But these are exceptions: in most of Italy, pizza has stopped being a cheap meal, becoming more and more a small luxury.

Why the price doesn't go down

There are very specific causes behind this increase : the pandemic, the high cost of energy and the war in Ukraine have caused restaurant owners to skyrocket their costs, especially for flour and oil. But these increases have never gone back down, and have actually stabilized. The reason? Pizza is a “rigid demand” good: people continue to consume it even if it costs more.

The sector remains strong: it is worth 25 billion euros a year and is also supported by take-away and delivery, which help consumers save on cover and drinks.