Fines proportional to income: because in Italy the amount is fixed

The fine of over 120 thousand euros for passing in front of a speed camera in 2023 also made the news in Italy. 32 km/h over the limit. It happened in Finlandone of the countries where most traffic fines are proportional to income. And the owner of a holding company with a turnover of 350 million euros per year committed an infringement which in our country would have resulted in a fine of 169 to 680 euros and 3 points on the driving licence. The case of the Finnish entrepreneur is not an isolated one: it is the system used in countries where traffic fines do not have a fixed amount. What does not vary is not the amount but the damage caused to the transgressor, which is therefore commensurate with income and economic possibilities. The principle is that a thousand euro fine does not “weigh” on everyone in the same way, it causes more difficulty for a worker than for a manager. Why then don’t fines vary based on income in Italy too?

CARDINAL PRINCIPLE

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First of all for a question of the legal system: the Italian legal system develops on principle of equality before the lawand the sanction (whether administrative or criminal) is always based on the seriousness of the infraction or conduct, not on the economic conditions of the transgressor. Always knowing, precisely, in advance and without the need for calculations, what one is facing by transgressing a rule or law is considered a predictable deterrent, clear for everyone.

FACTUAL INIQUITY

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In a country like Italy where tax evasion is an atavistic and significant problem, tracing everything back to declared income would lead, in some cases, to a de facto inequity, even greater than what is perceived in some cases now. Fines proportional to income require a efficient and rigorous tax systemand the Italian one (like others in Europe) is not at the levels of more organised, much smaller and therefore relatively simpler to control and manage countries such as Finland, Switzerland, Sweden or Austria.

BUREAUCRACY

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Finally, bureaucratic issues arise in the analysis. In fact, the police forces, with fines proportional to earnings, should evaluate from time to time the income of those who have violated the Highway Codecomplicating on the one hand and slowing down on the other the sanctioning process, both on site (it would be necessary to provide agents with rapid access to tax data) and in the offices. Furthermore, the margins of erroras well as the possible appeals that would burden a system that is already not fast.