Irpef (Italian personal income tax) was conceived as a comprehensive income tax, but never was. First it was financial income, which was set aside before the start of Irpef itself, then many different incomes were removed from the (never been) comprehensive tax base, especially in the last 20 years. Due to that, the progressivity of the tax system in our country was reduced a lot. Every income not subject to personal income tax is the reason of a lower tax income and the tax savings have regressive effects. The reasons that led to those exclusions are no longer valid under current conditions, and sometimes only linked to reasons electoral consensus paid to a tax system that has lost rationality and fairness. The conclusions propose return to a comprehensive or semi-comprehensive system, also addressing the necessary transition period and looking at the Vanoni’s tax reforms experience in the ’50.
Keywords: Personal income tax, tax base, comprehensive income tax, progressive tax, tax expenditures
Jel Code: H20, H22, H23