Abstract
This paper aims to illustrate the main aspects of the Italian Tourist Tax, which has received little or no attention so far. Although its first institution dates back to 1910, the current tax was introduced under Italian tax law only in 2011, as part of the federalist reform of the State and as a means to provide financial resources for local authorities. Several issues emerge from the examination of its legal system, due to the poor legal drafting and the little consistency of the regulations through which the municipalities have implemented the tax, as a uniform regulation at national level is lacking. Main factors of concern attain to the tax rate, which is based on the classification rather than on the price paid for the accommodation, the absence of any administrative sanction and, above all, the role of the accommodation facility's manager, who does not act as a withholding agent or tax liable person, but as accounting officer, who is only subject to minor obligations relating to the enforcement of the tax. Beside the above-referred problems, an overall review of the tax has become even more compelling, given that new possibilities have now arisen for owners of private dwellings to provide accommodation directly through sharing economy platforms, without the assistance of a professional intermediary.