Historical story

Tax on Celibacy:Hard Life for Bachelors in the Fascist Era

Text of the tax on celibacy (1927)

The celibacy tax it was certainly one of the most unique of the fascist era.

In fact, it ended up making life harder for hardened bachelors in Italy in the 1930s , especially for those aged between 25 and 65.

In fact, in order to increase marriages and births, Benito Mussolini introduced the aforementioned tax , which consisted of a sum of money to be paid to the state by all singles males belonging to that age group.

To be precise, those who were between 25 and 35 years old had to pay 70 lire a year (more or less 55 euros today) then, as the age increased, the rate fell, until it reached "only" 50 lire, while from the age of 66 upwards they were (finally!) exempted.

In the intentions of the Duce, the celibacy tax should have led to an increase in the population and the army, but the results achieved were anything but exceptional.