The real estate tax IMU

One of the first official acts of the new Italian government under Enrico Letta, supported by a large coalition, was carried out at the end of April 2013. sit up and take notice: The real estate tax under the abbreviation IMU , which burdens many citizens, was immediately suspended- it should be completely abolished.

That was a central demand of the conservative coalition partner, the PDL party led by Silvio Berlusconi. In Italy, however, the suspension and the planned abolition of this tax will only benefit citizens with their primary residence; The temporary residence, which includes holiday apartments and houses, will continue to be taxed.

In recent years there has been a lot of back and forth. The real estate tax on the first residence, at the time called ICI (imposta comunale sugli immobili),   was abolished in 2008 by the Berlusconi government. In 2012, however, it was approved by the Mario Monti government of experts in the face of empty municipal and state coffers as part of the & ldquo; Salva Italia & ldquo; program. (Save Italy) also reintroduced for the primary residence. It was called and has been calling itself IMU & ndash; & ldquo; Imposta Municipale Unica & ldquo; .

Anyone who has a second home, i.e. holiday home or holiday home in Italy, would do well to pay this tax in two installments on time & ndash; Mid-July and mid-December & ndash; to pay.
Anyone who wants to hide, risks an administrative penalty of up to 100 percent of the value.

And you have to; watch out: this tax is a DEBT. This means that the responsible municipality does not remind you of payment dates and also does not give any instructions on the amount of the fee, which is based on the cadastral value in a complicated manner (can be found in the land register extract)   and possible municipal surcharges. You have to fill in a form, F24, which the Italian Post has also put online. But most vacation home owners should be overwhelmed. It is therefore advisable to consult your own real estate agent, an architect or a so-called commercialista (tax advisor).

The tax is shared: 50 percent goes to the community, the other half picks up the money State. & Nbsp;  

©  Klaus J. Schwehn