Europe’s Plastic Fiscal Shift: Why Italy’s Plastic Tax Now Starts in 2027

Europe’s transition toward a circular and resource-efficient economy has placed plastics at the centre of legislative and fiscal innovation. Once celebrated for versatility and low production costs, plastics have become a symbol of linear consumption models that the European Union is actively seeking to overcome. Regulatory action alone, however, has proved insufficient to counteract rising plastic waste volumes, particularly in the realm of single-use products. For this reason, fiscal instruments have increasingly been used to complement regulatory restrictions, shaping behaviour through targeted economic incentives.

Within this evolving framework, two parallel but fundamentally different mechanisms now structure Europe’s approach to plastic waste: the EU Plastic Levy, introduced in 2021 as part of the Union’s system of Own Resources, and national plastic taxes, designed and implemented (or, as in Italy’s case, repeatedly postponed) at Member State level. While they share an environmental rationale, the two instruments diverge considerably in their logic, scope and economic impact. The EU levy operates at a macro level, linking each Member State’s contribution to the EU budget with its performance in recycling plastic packaging waste. National plastic taxes, by contrast, directly target products and operators, translating environmental objectives into market signals.

Italy fits into this landscape in a distinctive way. The country legislated its national plastic tax in 2019, aligning with the goals of the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive, yet has postponed its entry into force multiple times. The most recent deferral shifts implementation to 1 January 2027, highlighting ongoing tension between environmental ambition, economic considerations and administrative readiness. As a result, Italy remains one of the largest EU economies without an operational plastic tax, even while the EU levy continues to shape its fiscal obligations at European level.

This article examines how these two instruments (Europe’s macro-level levy and Italy’s micro-level tax) coexist within the broader circular economy strategy, what distinguishes their design, and what Italy’s 2027 implementation horizon means for industry, policymakers and the future of environmental taxation.

The European Strategy for Plastics: Setting the Framework for Fiscal Action

To understand why national governments and the EU have turned to taxation, it is important to consider the strategic shift that began with the European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy. This landmark strategy identified plastic waste, particularly single-use plastics, as one of the most pressing environmental issues. It drew attention to low recycling rates, high levels of marine pollution, and the necessity of redesigning the production, use, and recovery of plastics.

Following the Strategy came the Single-Use Plastics Directive (Directive 2019/904), which introduced restrictions on certain items, set mandatory consumption reduction targets, and imposed design obligations on producers. These regulatory instruments share a clear objective: to reduce the environmental impact of the most problematic plastic products and encourage innovation in sustainable alternatives. Italy’s plastic tax arises from this regulatory ecosystem, reflecting an attempt to complement bans and design rules with a price signal that discourages the use of single-use plastics.

Meanwhile, the EU undertook reform of its Own Resources system, culminating in the introduction of the EU Plastic Levy in 2021. Although this levy is environmentally motivated, it is essentially a revenue measure: Member States must contribute based on the weight of their non-recycled plastic packaging waste. This creates an economic incentive for national systems to improve plastic waste management, as poor recycling performance will directly increase a state’s contribution to the EU budget for the first time.

Italy’s Plastic Tax: Structure, Scope, and the Newly Updated Timeline

Introduced by Law No. 160/2019 (Budget Law 2020), Italy’s national plastic tax is part of the government’s strategy to reduce single-use plastics. Although approved in 2019, the tax has never come into effect. Over the past few years, economic pressures, feedback from industry, administrative concerns, and broader uncertainty in the packaging supply chain have repeatedly prompted the government to postpone its implementation.

The most recent postponement, confirmed at the end of 2025, brings the start date forward to 1 January 2027. This new timeline supersedes the previously scheduled date of 1 July 2026, reflecting the government’s intent to allow more time for administrative preparation and economic adjustment. Nevertheless, the repeated postponements cast doubt on whether the 2027 deadline will be final or if new political or economic circumstances may cause further delays.

The core structure of the tax remains unchanged. It applies to MACSI (“manufatti con singolo impiego”, i.e., manufactured products designed for a single use) which are items made, even partially, of plastics composed of synthetic organic polymers and not intended to be repeatedly reused for the same purpose. Therefore, the scope is linked not to all plastics, but specifically to those that are functionally disposable. Items such as bottles, packaging films and containers, as well as many other short-lived plastic products, fall within this definition provided they are finished goods intended for consumption.

The tax is calculated at a rate of EUR 0.45 per kilogram of plastic material contained in the MACSI product. This weight-based mechanism requires the precise determination of the plastic content of each item placed on the market, which is one of the most technically demanding aspects of compliance. 

The law determines tax liability based on the origin and movement of goods. Domestic manufacturers are liable for production within Italy, while purchasers engaged in economic activity are liable for acquisitions from other EU Member States. Suppliers are responsible for sales to private consumers, while importers are liable for goods arriving from non-EU countries. Buyers who commission MACSI production in Italian facilities are also considered taxable persons.

Although the tax regulatory framework includes penalties for late filing, late payment and non-payment, none of these provisions can be enforced until the tax officially takes effect. The lengthy series of postponements has therefore created a unique situation in which a fully drafted tax remains frozen in legislative suspense, awaiting political consensus and administrative readiness.

The EU Plastic Levy: A Fiscal Mechanism Shaping National Behaviour

Unlike Italy’s plastic tax, the EU Plastic Levy does not target businesses or consumers directly. Rather, it is a contribution that each member state must pay into the EU budget based on the weight of non-recycled plastic packaging waste generated annually. At EUR 0.80 per kilogram, the rate is higher than Italy’s national rate, but the two measures are not comparable as they apply to different materials and operate at different levels within the economy.

The EU levy functions as a macro-level incentive. A state that improves its recycling performance will reduce its contribution, while one that fails to do so will pay more. Member States can then decide whether to finance this contribution through general tax revenue or to introduce national measures targeting plastic consumption or waste generation. The levy has indirectly encouraged countries such as Spain to introduce a national plastic tax, providing budgetary justification for Italy’s own tax despite repeated delays to its implementation.

The levy reflects the EU’s broader strategy of using fiscal tools to align economic incentives with environmental performance, not merely to finance the budget. In this sense, it complements, rather than replaces, national taxes such as Italy’s MACSI tax, the two instruments operate independently.

Italy’s Plastic Tax and the EU Plastic Levy: Two Instruments, Two Logics

Despite their shared environmental focus, Italy’s national plastic tax and the EU Plastic Levy are fundamentally different instruments with different objectives. Italy’s tax targets specific products, namely single-use plastic items, and aims to influence market behaviour by increasing the cost of such products. The tax is levied on the plastic content of the product, and the taxable persons are economic operators.

By contrast, the EU levy targets Member States and is calculated based on recycling performance. Its objective is not to alter individual consumption or production decisions directly, but rather to encourage governments to redesign their waste management systems. Italy’s tax is therefore microeconomic, intended to influence business decisions, while the EU levy is macroeconomic, influencing state-level policy decisions.

Once Italy’s tax enters into force, both instruments will coexist, but they will generate different pressures. The EU levy will encourage Italy to make systemic improvements to its recycling infrastructure, while the national tax will provide a market-based incentive to reduce single-use plastic consumption if applied as designed.

The Implications of Italy’s New 2027 Date

The postponement of Italy’s plastic tax to 1 January 2027 has several implications. While the postponement offers businesses temporary relief from compliance burdens, it also prolongs uncertainty. Companies that had planned to redesign products, update documentation or invest in new materials now have an extra year to plan, but still don't know if the tax will be postponed again.

For policymakers, the new date allows more time to refine the implementation process and align the tax with the EU's evolving waste and packaging regulations. However, repeated delays risk undermining the tax's credibility and weakening its environmental impact.

At the European level, Italy’s postponement highlights the inconsistent implementation of national plastic taxes across the continent. While the EU levy remains fully in force, member states differ widely in how they choose to complement it with domestic measures. Once operational, Italy’s tax will position the country among those taking a multi-layered fiscal approach to reducing plastic waste. However, until then, Italy will remain a major economy without an active national plastic tax, while neighbouring countries continue to progress.

Conclusion

The evolution of Europe’s plastic taxation instruments highlights the increasing dependence on fiscal measures to promote environmental objectives. The EU Plastic Levy operates at the level of member state accountability, linking recycling performance to financial contributions. In contrast, Italy’s plastic tax is designed to influence the behaviour of private sector companies by taxing single-use plastic products. While these instruments have complementary objectives, they differ in terms of their structure, scope, and target audience.

Following the latest postponement, Italy’s tax is now not due to be introduced until 1 January 2027, leaving the country at a crossroads. It has the legislative framework, the environmental rationale, and comparative models from Spain and the UK. What remains to be seen is whether the political and administrative conditions will finally allow the tax to enter into force, or if Italy’s plastic tax will remain more of a legislative intention than an operational reality.

In either case, the direction of travel in Europe is clear: fiscal levers will remain central to the transition away from single-use plastics. Whether implemented nationally or imposed at the EU level, such mechanisms reflect a new paradigm in which environmental sustainability and fiscal policy are increasingly inseparable.