For 85% of Italians, taxation is not fair

“The tax system in Italy is not fair. It is little or not at all fair, in the perception of 85% of public opinion and this inequity contributes to making the country increasingly unequal: for 71%, inequalities in Italy have increased in the last 5 years and are mostly economic in nature, but also of a access to services, especially health ones”. This is what emerges from the opinion poll conducted in September by the Demopolis Institute for Oxfam Italy on experiences and perceptions of inequalities and the fairness of the tax system.

The opinion poll was conducted on a sample of over 4,000 interviewees and analysed “the perceptions and sensitivities of public opinion on the issues of economic inequality and detected the Citizens’ evaluations of the tax system Italian and the degree of support for a range of measures to combat economic and social gaps“, as explained by Oxfam.

“The broad concerns of citizens about the gaps in access to care” – the survey revealed – “appear to clearly reflect the profound territorial inequalities in health care that characterize Italy and that, in the perception of large segments of public opinion and in the assessments of many experts and actors in civil society, risk widening further, if the law on differentiated autonomy were to be implemented”.

The absolute majority, according to the study, “also remembers how much the gaps in opportunities for access to the world of work (55%) and in wealth availability (51%) weigh”. The survey also shows “citizens’ awareness of the negative impacts of inequalities in terms of weakening of democratic life (71%), obstacle to economic growth (79%), crumbling of social cohesion (86%) and dim prospects for the future for the new generations (86%)”.

7 out of 10 Italians in favor of tax on large estates

“7 out of 10 Italians would today be in favor of a European tax on large fortunes, which in Italy would apply to the richest 0.1% of the population, approximately 50,000 citizens, with net assets exceeding 5.4 million euros.”

In detail, taking voters as a point of reference, support for the European tax on large fortunes is “very broad among AVS voters (94%), PD (88%) and M5S (86%) and among the portion of the population that declares to abstain from voting (73%)”. Among the main forces of the current majority, however, support reaches – net of those who do not express a defined position – “a relative majority: 49% of those in favor against 42% of those against among those who vote for Fratelli d’Italia; 45% of those in favor against 42% of those against among Forza Italia voters and 46% of those in favor against 43% of those against among Lega voters”.