As Italy strives to recover from the Covid crisis, there is good news for potential first-time homebuyers in the under-36 age-group. The Italian government has just announced a proposal to reduce stamp duty for young people wishing to purchase their first home in the near future. The proposal aims to encourage young would-be buyers to take their first step on the property ladder and, if approved, will offer a welcome opportunity to reduce the normally high costs involved in buying property, ones that often discourage this particular age group. The opportunity will be limited to those under 36 with an income of less than €40,000 p.a. who conclude the purchase before 30th June 2022. The usual exclusions apply: the properties must not fall into the “luxury” classes A1, A8 and A9. Please get in touch if this opportunity could be of interest to you.

Just a reminder that all UK nationals registered in Italy are advised to return to the Comune before the end of the year to obtain an Attestazione di Iscrizione Anagrafica. This will certify that you are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and will be the easiest way to prove that you are entitled to maintain all your current rights in Italy after 31.12.2020. This is advisable both for those already registered on the Anagrafe and for those who aim to register before the end of the year. We are told that applying is relatively straightforward, but as most Comuni are still working restricted hours due to Covid 19 we would advise you get this sorted out sooner rather than later.

A very welcome bit of news in the midst of much gloom – for those with a partita iva, the Italian government is offering a one-off payment of €600. This is with reference to March – it isn’t clear if it will be repeated but we will keep you posted. If you are already our client, we shall already have contacted you about this. If you are not currently our client, and are interested in claiming the €600, please contact us so that we can arrange this for you.

Under a new draft tourism law, steps are being taken to ensure that individuals who rent more than 3 houses are considered to be carrying on a business activity. This means that income from the activity will not qualify for the favourable “cedolare secca” treatment and that the individuals carrying on these rentals will need to register for IVA (take out a partita iva) and INPS. The thinking behind the proposed move is to regulate better the tourist rental sector, particularly in view of the number of activities which are believed to be carried on through sites such as Airbnb, but which in reality are businesses. The draft law also provides for Comuni to regulate tourist rentals by issuing licences to regulate the maximum number of rental properties available and the maximum duration of temporary rentals so as to be able to manage better the flow of tourists to Italy’s historic centres. We will need to see what happens to the draft proposals.

A note of interest to all residents in Italy – as of the start of the year payment for many items which are deductible costs in your tax return need to be made by traceable methods of payment. This means by debit or credit card, bank transfer or cheque. The items are: specialist health appointments; mortgage payments; agency costs on purchase of first home; veterinary costs; funeral costs; general school and University costs sports costs for children from 5 to 18 years of age; insurance costs; costs of care for those with particular needs; donations to schools; travel passes on local transport. The following items may still be paid for in cash: medicines; medical equipment; Health services provided by public hospitals or those working under agreement with the SSN

Expansion of ENEA reporting requirements Sounds a little dry, we appreciate, but these requirements are of interest to anyone engaged in building work on their property in Italy. There are very generous tax credits available for most types of “extraordinary” renovation and restructuring work, as well as for certain types of energy-saving improvements. Up to now there has been a requirement to certify that the energy-saving improvements are sufficiently effective. Now these requirements have been extended to cover certain types of structural works. In brief these include insulation of walls, roofs and floors, and double-glazing. They also now include certification of white goods, which can qualify for a small tax credit when purchased in connection with wider renovation work. In all cases, the work needs to be notified to the ENEA organisation within 90 days – this is best handled by the geometra or other technician involved in the work. Failure to notify ENEA correctly will mean you lose the benefit of the tax credit – so worth taking note!

Congratulations to Italy, which has become the first of the EU member states to guarantee the rights of UK citizens in a case of no-deal Brexit. According to reports in The Guardian, high level assurances have been given to the group representing the ca 60,000 Brits living in Italy – British in Italy – that were the UK to exit the EU without a deal, they would retain their rights to live and work in Italy. This is a huge relief to UK ex-pats in Italy and we can only hope it is swiftly followed by similar reassurances from other EU member states. How very satisfying though that Italy should be the first!

A good start to the New Year for those thinking of escaping the drear of a Brexit-bound UK and dreaming of relocation to Italy. The latest budget, approved by the Italian government at the end of December, includes an incentive aimed at encouraging the repopulation of the smaller towns and villages of the South of Italy. The incentive is offered to any pensioner who has not been resident in Italy in the previous 5 years and who moves to take up residency in Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, Campania, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise or Puglia in any Comune with a population of less than 20,000. Those interested can opt to have all of their overseas income – not just their pensions – taxed at a fixed rate of 7%. The incentive lasts for 5 years. Five years in a hill-top town in Southern Italy? What’s not to like? Maybe by the time the incentive scheme ends they’ll have even sorted out the Brexit mess….

  Energy saving work – ENEA notification On Wednesday 21st November, the ENEA website was finally made fully functional. This is of interest to all carrying out energy saving improvements to their homes, which includes the installation of solar panels, new boilers, double glazing etc. In order to obtain the very generous tax breaks available for this kind of work, ENEA needs to receive detailed information/certification of the type of work carried out and its energy efficiency. The information needs to be notified to ENEA within 90 days of the end of the work, or of the date of final testing where relevant. For work completed between the beginning of this year (2018) and 21st November, the information needs to arrive within 90 days of 21st November 2018. The new website should make transmission of this information much simpler. However we would always recommend that this be delegated to a geometra or the technician who carried out the work – they may require payment. For you it is essential that the information reaches ENEA within the correct timescale, otherwise you will not be able to claim the tax credit for the energy-saving work undertaken. The new site is: http://ristrutturazioni2018.enea.it  

Good news in the current Finance Act (legge finanziaria) for those on the Forfettario scheme. This is the simplified scheme for small businesses which offers a discounted flat rate of tax, which historically has been 15%, or 5% for genuine start-ups. One of the criteria for qualifying for the scheme is that the business has a limited turnover: to date, the limit has depended on the type of business. Businesses classed as professional  –  English teaching, say or website design – would have a turnover limit of €30k, while an activity offering accommodation would be restricted to a turnover of no more than €50k. Unnecessarily complicated, we all thought, and for once the powers that be are in agreement. As of next year, the proposal is that the limit of turnover be raised to €65000 for all activities. For those already on the scheme, it is not yet clear whether the new turnover limit will also apply to 2018 earnings: we await clarification from the Agenzia. If so, it could be a busy couple of months in the run up to Christmas!