Italy to Scrap Road Tax for Most Vehicles, and Umbria's Hill Towns Count the Miles

The Italian government plans to abolish the annual road tax for roughly 70 percent of the vehicles on the country's roads from 2027, according to The Local Italy, which reported the measure this week. The tax, known in Italy as the bollo auto, is levied by the regions rather than by Rome, and its proceeds are tied to the upkeep of the regional road network. The Local Italy's report does not set out which categories of vehicle will be exempt, nor how the lost revenue would be replaced.

The change would land hardest where the network is longest and the population thinnest. Umbria is a region of some 858,000 people spread across hill towns, mountain hamlets and a provincial road system that has to be maintained whether or not anyone drives it. Vehicle ownership in inland Italy is not a luxury: outside Perugia, Terni and a handful of larger centres, the car is often the only practical link to a doctor, a market or a railway station.

The foreign coverage frames the measure as a relief for motorists. What it does not yet say is what happens to the roads the tax pays for. In a region where winter frosts crack the asphalt on the passes and spring rains undercut the verges, deferring maintenance is a decision with a date attached.