This paper represents the very first attempt to employ the data of “cinque per mille” allocation of income taxation for the purpose of studying the evolution of social preferences of Italian taxpayers. The descriptive analysis shows a significant change in the taxpayers’ allocation of “cinque per mille” among the different sectors (scientific research, medical research, human solidarity, culture, environment, sport and municipalities). According to the concept of moral universalism of social preferences introduced by Enke (2022) our results indicate a gradual shift of social preferences towards particularism.