Apulian families’ spending on waste tax (Tari) is growing. From a study conducted by the Uil tax and social security service, which analyzed the costs of the Tari in 109 provincial capital cities, the South and therefore also Puglia are heavily penalized.
The average expenditure allocated to the TARI for Italian families – reports a Uil note – underwent a notable increase from 2018 to 2023, equal to 9.69%, while for 2023 alone, the increase was 1.66%. compared to the previous year. In particular, between 2022 and 2023, 51 provincial capitals out of 109 recorded an increase in the waste tax.
In absolute terms, a family of four, residing in a house of 80 m2 and with an ISEE income of 25 thousand euros, paid, on average, 331 euros for the waste tax in 2023, compared to the 302 euros paid in 2018. This increase was more evident in the southern regions, where the average expenditure rose to 395 euros, compared to 363 euros in 2018.
In the general ranking for 2023, Pisa holds the record for the highest cost, with an annual average of 545 euros per family. Followed by Brindisi with 518 euros, Genoa with 508 euros, Latina with 495 euros, Naples with 495 euros, Pistoia with 492 euros, Catania with 475 euros, Trapani with 472 euros, Messina with 470 euros and Taranto with 469 euros. In Matera it went from 318.86 euros in 2018 to 400.49 euros in 2023; in Potenza from 154.47 euros in 2018 to 261.50 euros in 2023.
Analyzing the situation of the metropolitan cities, Bari is sixth with a cost of 401 euros. First Genoa (508 euros per year per family), followed by Naples (495 euros), Catania (475 euros), Messina (470) and Reggio Calabria (453 euros).
In the geographical subdivision of the country into four macro-areas North-West, North-East, Central and South and Islands, the latter appears to be the most expensive area, with an average of 395 euros, up by 1.11%, again compared to 2022.
«These numbers highlight a regional imbalance which is a threat to cohesion and a source of inequality between territories. Puglia, like the other regions of Southern Italy, continues to be penalized and marginalized. If we add to the high costs of the Tari its impact on the incomes of Apulian families, it is easy to understand how this causes a further worsening of the living conditions of Apulian people. The workers of our region earn too little, while the costs that life imposes on them are too high. There is no margin to talk about quality of life and well-being. The gap between what workers are burdened with in terms of taxes and contributions eliminates what they earn from their work. We will never tire of saying that we need a reform of the work system, increasing salaries, decontributing productivity bonuses, cutting the tax wedge and tax-freeing contractual increases” explains Gianni Ricci, general secretary of Uil Puglia.
