Consultant Solidarity Levies Italy

ABOUT THE ONE CAMPAIGN

ONE is a global, nonpartisan organization fighting for a more just world by demanding the investments needed to create economic opportunities and healthier lives in Africa. We do this by deploying trusted and dynamic advocacy that leverages hard-hitting data, credible grassroots activism, creative political engagement, and strategic partnerships. We use all this to influence decision-makers to take action and tackle the world’s biggest challenges. Read more at www.one.org.

The consultant will deliver an independent analysis of the potential impact of introducing a premium flyer levy in Italy, covering revenue potential, distributional effects, economic impact and legal feasibility. The analysis will set out a small number of costed design options and recommend which of them ONE should pursue.

The assignment will typically cover the period from November 2026 to March 2027, for a maximum of X working days. The exact duration, number of days and balance between the areas set out below may be adjusted in discussion with the selected consultant.

BACKGROUND

Passengers departing from Italian airports already pay a municipal boarding surcharge of €6.50, rising to €7.50 at Rome. The 2025 budget added a further €0.50 on extra-EU departures from airports handling more than 10 million passengers a year, which the government expected to raise around €8 million in 2026. The revenue goes to municipalities near airports, to the air transport solidarity fund and to social security schemes, and none of it reaches development cooperation or global health.

Several European governments have begun looking at aviation charges that fall on premium travel rather than on the market as a whole. France applies a solidarity contribution on air tickets at rates that vary by cabin class and by aircraft type, and raised those rates in March 2025. The Netherlands introduces distance-differentiated tariffs in 2027. The United Kingdom charges a separate and considerably higher rate of air passenger duty on private jets. Nothing equivalent has been costed for Italy. The debate so far has been shaped by the aviation industry's campaign against the existing municipal surcharge, with climate organisations arguing on the other side for measures targeted at luxury flights. Neither side has produced an independent estimate of what a differentiated premium levy would raise, who would end up paying it, or what it would cost the sector.

OBJECTIVES

Establish what a differentiated premium flyer levy would raise in Italy and who would bear the cost,

Provide ONE and its partners with an evidence base robust enough to withstand scrutiny from the Italian aviation industry and from the Ministry of Economy and Finance,

Identify the design option that is most viable politically and legally, together with the legislative route through which it could realistically be advanced.

ACTIVITIES

The consultant's services will include, but not be limited to, the following areas:

Baseline mapping

Map the taxes and charges currently applied to air passengers and aircraft in Italy, including the municipal boarding surcharge, regional charges where they apply, the erariale tax on private and business aircraft, VAT treatment and the cost of EU ETS obligations

Set out, for each charge, the legal basis, the rate, the annual yield and where the revenue goes

Establish the volume and composition of premium traffic departing from Italy, covering premium cabin passengers by route category and business and general aviation movements by airport, and how both have moved since 2019

Design options and revenue modelling

Develop three to four concrete levy designs for Italy, including as a minimum a premium cabin levy differentiated by distance band, a charge on private and business aviation levied per passenger or per movement, and a combined option

Specify for each design the taxable event, the liable party, the rate structure and the collection mechanism

Model the annual revenue of each option over five years, giving a central estimate and a sensitivity range

Distributional and economic impact

Assess who bears the cost of each option, including the share of departing passengers affected and the effect on ticket prices by market segment

Assess the likely effect on demand, route connectivity, airport competitiveness and employment, using published price elasticities and evidence from countries that have introduced comparable measures

Engage directly with the arguments made by Italian airline and airport industry bodies rather than setting them aside

Quantify the emissions associated with premium and private aviation departing from Italy and estimate the emissions effect of each design option, in a self-contained section that can be used or left out depending on the audience

Legal and fiscal feasibility

Identify the legislative vehicle each option would require and assess compatibility with EU law, the Chicago Convention and bilateral air service agreements

Assess whether revenue could be directed to development cooperation and global health within Italian budget law, including any constraints on earmarking and the precedents available

Political economy

Map the positions of the relevant ministries, ENAC, industry associations, carriers, airport operators, trade unions and regional authorities

Identify the parliamentary and budgetary windows through which each option could be advanced

Recommendations

Rank the design options against revenue potential, political feasibility and administrative simplicity, and recommend a preferred option together with a fallback

DELIVERABLES

Inception note of three to five pages setting out method, data sources and any proposed change to scope, due two weeks after contract signature

Draft report in English of 25 to 30 pages, excluding annexes

Final report in English incorporating ONE's comments, with an executive summary in Italian

Revenue model in Excel, with all assumptions documented and adjustable

Two-page summary in Italian suitable for circulation to parliamentarians and officials

One online presentation of the findings to ONE staff, of up to 90 minutes including discussion

Every quantitative claim must be traceable either to a public data source or to an assumption stated on the page. ONE will circulate the findings to officials and parliamentarians, and the Italian aviation industry is well organised and will look for weaknesses in the numbers.

INDICATIVE TIMELINE

Contract signature: mid-November 2026

Inception note: end November 2026

Draft report: mid-February 2027

ONE comments returned: within two weeks of the draft

Final report and model: mid-March 2027

Presentation to ONE: within two weeks of the final report

CONSULTANT PROFILE

Applications are open to individuals, consortia and firms. The following are required:

Demonstrated experience in tax policy analysis, transport economics or public finance modelling, with at least one comparable piece of published work

Working knowledge of the Italian fiscal and legislative system

Professional fluency in Italian and English

Ability to write for a political audience that is not technical

Familiarity with aviation taxation, development finance or EU own resources will count in an applicant's favour. Applicants should disclose any current or recent work for airlines, airport operators or aviation industry associations.

REPORTING AND COORDINATION

The consultant will work under the supervision of ONE, in close coordination with the EU policy and advocacy team and with team Italy

Check-ins will be agreed at the outset, expected to be fortnightly during the drafting period

The consultant will flag any material change to the assumptions underlying the revenue model as soon as it arises, rather than at the point of delivery

ONE will provide the consultant with the following input and suppo