Rai licence fee: the number of people in arrears is rising even though it’s included in the utility bill
The report on the informal economy and tax evasion estimates an increase of 380,000 users in 2023. For the first time since 2018, the 1 million mark has been exceeded. Difficulties arising from a complex socio-economic context are also a factor.
Key points
In an Italia rife with tax anomalies, the Rai licence fee is certainly no exception. Its inclusion in electricity bills has helped to reduce the number of tax evaders, but a problem is emerging: a rise in arrears. This is highlighted in the 2026 report on the unobserved economy and on tax and social security evasion, attached to the Public Finance Policy Document (DPFP) presented to Parliament. This rise in so-called ‘collection evasion’ can also be explained by the difficulties people face in meeting their tax payments due to the socio-economic context.
Including the charge on utility bills reduces the number of tax evaders
The report highlights how the inclusion of the Rai licence fee – that is, the tax on owning a television set – in utility bills has reduced the number of evaders from over 7 million in the period 2011–2015 to around 1.7 million in 2016. However, in the following years, the number of evaders ‘began to rise again until 2020, before showing a decline between 2021 and 2023’. According to the report, this reduction ‘is the result of an increase in the number of people registered for the licence fee, particularly those for whom the fee is included in their electricity bill’.
Reduction in the amounts paid
However, there is another figure worth noting: the ‘sharp fall in the licence fee actually paid, which has dropped from over 2 billion euros to around 1.96 billion in 2023’. It should be borne in mind that 2023 is the final year covered by the report and that a reduction in the licence fee from 90 to 70 euros is scheduled for 2024. In any case, the report explains that ‘the significant decrease in revenue and the corresponding rise in arrears are most likely indicative of households’ growing difficulty in meeting their tax obligations within a complex socio-economic context’. The number of licence fee payers fell by over 300,000 between 2022 and 2023, dropping from 22.3 million to around 22 million.
The gap is widening
The year 2023 then saw the gap widen, bucking the trend of improvements recorded in the previous two years. ‘If we consider, in fact, the gap (calculated as the product of the average annual licence fee and the number of evaders and defaulters), together with the breakdown of unpaid fees, it can be seen that, overall, the gap has risen from 208.6 million in 2022 to over 239 million in 2023, and that the shortfall in payments has risen from 68.7 million to over 102 million.”
The rise in the number of defaulters
In 2023, the number of defaulters is set to rise by over 380,000 compared with 2022: 1.14 million individuals in 2023, compared with 764,000 the previous year. ‘Furthermore,’ the report goes on to state, ‘the figure recorded in 2023 is significantly higher than those recorded throughout the entire period under review, and for the first time since 2018, the threshold of one million defaulters has been exceeded.’
