Thousands of Italian motorists have registered their vehicles with Polish license plates in an effort to reduce road tax and insurance costs, authorities say. Industry sources estimate that around 60,000 drivers have transferred ownership of their cars and motorcycles to shell companies in Poland, attracted by potential savings of up to 70 percent on annual fees.

This phenomenon has gained momentum amid Italy’s political landscape, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing coalition recently pledged to eliminate the country’s widely unpopular annual road tax, known as the bollo auto. The tax suspension, planned for 2027, would affect an estimated 14.5 million vehicles and is expected to cost the Italian treasury roughly €2.4 billion next year. The government intends to cover these initial expenses through savings from the European Union’s Covid recovery fund.

Meloni has described the elimination of the bollo auto as a priority, dubbing it “one of the taxes most hated by Italians,” though critics argue the move is largely an electoral maneuver ahead of the general election scheduled for that year. Matteo Renzi, leader of the centrist Italia Viva party and former premier, welcomed the idea but urged Meloni to implement the change substantively rather than as a temporary measure.

Italian and Polish authorities are increasingly cooperating to address concerns over the misuse of Polish registrations. The Polish Bureau for Insurance and Motor Vehicles (PBUK) reported a sharp rise in compensation claims related to uninsured Polish-registered vehicles involved in accidents in Italy. Between January and August this year, claims reached 35 million zlotys (€8.9 million), doubling the total for all of 2025. PBUK vice-president Piotr Zadrożny noted that most of these vehicles had never been driven on Polish roads, suggesting their registration is primarily for tax avoidance.

Heightened enforcement has also led to increased scrutiny of vehicles with foreign plates by Italian police. This has prompted anxiety among drivers using Polish licenses, with social media circulating tips on how to re-register such vehicles to avoid fines. Despite the government’s tax relief plans, some political analysts remain skeptical. Francesco Galietti of Policy Sonar, a political risk consultancy, described the tax suspension as “like giving some sugar to voters,” implying it may be a temporary concession rather than a permanent solution.