December 15, 2005 | Sex & Society

Italy proposes porn tax

In an effort at solving its cash-flow problems, the Italian government has announced plans to impose an additional 25 percent tax on all income earned from pornography. And as a result, Italian porn stars are pissed!

Under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian economy has dipped into a recession twice in the past two years. And because growth is expected to continue lagging behind other European nations operating on the euro, Berlusconi's government must resort to tapping more creative streams of revenue.

Enter "the porno tax." The 25 percent levy on everything from inflatable dolls to adult videos is included in a package of amendments to Italy's 2006 budget, which is currently being reviewed by parliament, according to Reuters, which cites government sources. It includes an additional 10 percent value-added tax on subscriptions to hard core television channels and, if approved, will bring the government an extra 300 million euros next year, Reuters says.

In an interview with Bloomberg, government economic adviser Luigi Casero said that some of the revenue generated by the porn tax will fund child care for low-income families. But that hasn't made the tax any more welcome within Italy's porn community, which has threatened street demonstrations against it, according to London's The Guardian.

Rocco Siffredi, one of Italy's most popular porn stars, said the government had "picked a fight with sex," The Guardian reports.

Careful who you bully, Italy, because taxing sex might just open up a can of whoop-ass!

• Stars cry blue murder over Italy's porn tax [The Guardian]
• Italian government to add porn levy, tax amnesty to budget plans [Bloomberg.com]
• Italy taps porn industry to help curb porn deficit [Yahoo! News (Reuters)]