ROME (Reuters) -Italy’s contested tax on sugary drinks will be postponed again and will not come into force before early 2026, the co-ruling League party said on Friday.
The levy was originally due to be applied at the start of 2020, but a backlash from producers persuaded successive Italian administrations to repeatedly postpone its implementation.
Rome will now postpone its entry into force for another six months, from July this year to January 2026, League lawmakers Riccardo Molinari and Massimiliano Romeo said in a statement.
Italy’s cabinet will adopt a decree needed to postpone the tax later on Friday.
A draft of the scheme seen by Reuters showed that the deferral has a cost for state coffers worth 155 million euros ($178 million) over the 2025-2027 period.
($1 = 0.8688 euros)
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, editing by Alvise Armellini)
