Automotive: the car hire sector opposes the registration tax

They are defending their standing and role in the automotive sector. And they are calling for simplification and regulations that are consistent with the evolution of the car hire sector in the country. The long- and short-term car hire sector, comprising companies united under Aniasa (Confindustria), is projected to reach a turnover of around €18 billion by 2026, generating tax revenue in excess of €3 billion, comprising VAT, local taxes and road tax, of which around €800 million comes from road tax and the provincial registration tax (IPT).

The reaction from businesses has been triggered by the Government’s move to introduce, via the Fiscal Decree, an amendment that specifically affects the provincial tax. The new provision stipulates that hire companies must pay the IPT to the local authority in which they carry out the ‘main day-to-day management’ of their business. “We are calling for a postponement of the provision’s entry into force and for a process to begin in the autumn to amend the text – emphasises Aniasa President Italo Folonari – which could mark a change of direction on this issue, to avoid placing an additional bureaucratic burden on businesses and leading to more disputes’. “A single vehicle registration carried out in one province ‘can be challenged by any other province’; this is absurd, because the regulation as it stands is unclear and, above all, fails to take into account the specific nature of the car hire sector,” adds Folonari.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) is currently drafting a circular setting out the necessary clarifications, but the issue remains a key one. The issue relates to determining the correct location for registering cars, which are then placed on the market under hire contracts with private individuals and businesses, and to eliminating any distorting mechanisms or instances of ‘legislative dumping’ that favour certain regions over others. The distribution of tax revenue is, in fact, far from uniform: in 2025, 525,000 hire vehicles were registered in Italia, 92 per cent of which were registered in five provinces (Trento, Turin, Rome, Florence and Bolzano).

Trento and Bolzano together account for 37.2 per cent of registrations, whilst Rome and Florence account for 34.2 per cent; Turin alone accounts for more than Rome. Case law, argues Aniasa, does not recognise any evasive behaviour; indeed, with around fifty judgements over five years, it seems to side mostly with businesses rather than with the public authorities that have brought appeals in recent years. However, the issue of fair geographical distribution remains; the government’s latest intervention on the matter sought to resolve the issue by introducing a controversial principle, as the companies point out, leaving them, according to Aniasa, exposed to an extremely high risk of litigation.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance’s clarifying circular is therefore awaited, whilst Aniasa has expressed its support for establishing a system – based on a national platform – capable of promoting fiscal federalism and the principles of territoriality in taxation, and proposes a special scheme for hire vehicles, with payments made to a single entity responsible for both data management and payment processing. The distribution of funds amongst local authorities could then be managed according to parameters set directly by the regions and provinces.