Italy's financial police have found another big fish in the creator economy. On July 9, 2026 the Guardia di Finanza of Trieste announced it had uncovered a local content creator who, according to investigators, earned about 700,000 euros through OnlyFans, Fansly and several adult video platforms without declaring any of it. And this case comes with a twist that makes it more than a routine tax story: on top of the ordinary taxes, the creator allegedly skipped 60,000 euros of Italy's so called ethics tax, a 25 percent surcharge that applies specifically to income from adult content. Here is what happened, as reported by ANSA and the Italian press, and why the ethics tax suddenly matters to every creator in Italy.
What did the Guardia di Finanza find in Trieste?
According to ANSA and the Italian press, the financial police unit of Muggia, near Trieste, reconstructed the business of a local content creator who monetized a large following: over 100,000 followers on Instagram and tens of millions of views across adult video platforms. Investigators say the revenue came from the classic creator mix of monthly subscriptions, personalized content sales and digital tips in private chats, on OnlyFans, Fansly and several other platforms, and that the activity was carried out habitually and in what they called complete tax anonymity, with around 700,000 euros never declared and part of the earnings passing through foreign financial accounts. The creator's identity has not been made public, and the case is at the investigation stage.
What is Italy's 25% "ethics tax"?
The detail that sets this case apart is the tassa etica. Italian law applies a 25 percent surcharge, on top of ordinary income taxes, to income from producing and distributing pornographic material and other activities the law classifies as ethically sensitive. Most creators outside Italy have never heard of it, and plenty inside Italy apparently ignore it too: in the Trieste case investigators contest about 60,000 euros of unpaid ethics tax on top of the ordinary evasion, as reported. The same surcharge surfaced in a Modena case in June, where six creators were found with around one million euros undeclared. For Italian adult creators the math is brutal: regular income tax, plus 25 percent, plus penalties if you hide it and get caught.
Why does Italy keep catching creators now?
Because the era of invisible creator income is over. Since the EU's DAC7 rules kicked in, platforms operating in Europe report creator earnings to tax authorities automatically, and Italian investigators pair that data with old fashioned web monitoring: public profiles, follower counts and posted content are compared with declared income, and the gaps do the talking. The Trieste case follows a wave we documented in our report on Italy's 2026 tax crackdown on OnlyFans creators, from Rovigo to Piacenza, and shows the pattern is not slowing down. Routing money through foreign accounts did not help either: cross border financial flows are exactly what financial police are equipped to trace, as this case shows.
What does it mean for creators and fans?
For creators, the lesson is the same one this year keeps teaching, just with a new line item: earnings from OnlyFans, Fansly or any platform are taxable income, and in Italy adult content carries the extra 25 percent surcharge that many discover only when the letter arrives. Real earnings data, like the numbers we break down in how much OnlyFans creators make, shows most creators earn modest amounts, but the ones who break through are exactly the ones tax authorities can now see. For fans, nothing changes in practice, though cases like this are a reminder that the creator economy is a real industry under real scrutiny, and that anonymity on these platforms is thinner than most people assume, on both sides of the paywall.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the Italian "ethics tax" on OnlyFans income?
Italy applies a 25 percent surcharge, known as the tassa etica, on top of ordinary income taxes for income from producing and distributing pornographic and adult material. In the Trieste case reported in July 2026, investigators contest about 60,000 euros of unpaid ethics tax in addition to roughly 700,000 euros of undeclared earnings.
What happened in the Trieste OnlyFans case?
According to ANSA and the Italian press, the Guardia di Finanza found that a Trieste based creator with over 100,000 Instagram followers earned around 700,000 euros from OnlyFans, Fansly and other adult platforms without declaring it, partly through foreign accounts. The identity has not been made public and the case is under investigation.
How do Italian authorities find undeclared creator income?
Through a combination of DAC7, the EU rule that makes platforms report creator earnings to tax authorities automatically, web monitoring of public profiles and views, and tracing of financial flows including foreign accounts, according to how the 2026 cases have been reported.
Do OnlyFans and Fansly creators have to pay taxes in Italy?
Yes. Earnings from subscriptions, custom content and tips are taxable income in Italy like anywhere else, and adult content income additionally carries the 25 percent ethics tax surcharge. Several Italian cases in 2026, from Rovigo to Modena to Trieste, show enforcement is active.
Note. This article reports allegations and investigative findings as stated by the Guardia di Finanza and the cited outlets, including ANSA, as of July 2026. The person involved has not been named by the sources and is presumed innocent; no court has ruled on the case. Not tax advice. FanChecked is an independent review platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by OnlyFans, Fansly or Fanvue.
