Legge di Stabilita 2014
By Gareth Horsfall
This article is published on: 1st January 2014
Legge di Stabilita 2014
There have been some interesting points from the new economic laws introduced in 2014 The main ones that might affect you are below, and for some of you, you might wish to hold your breath..
Rentals – Goodbye Cash
From 2014 owners of properties in Italy, which they rent, will be expected to have the rent paid only through trackable methods of payment. i.e through a bank account. (I assume that means Italian or overseas bank as long as it is trackable) Penalties of sanctions against both parties (renter and owner) can be made if they are not adhered to and subsequently found out. The only thing that seems to be excluded is public buildings, such as Case Popolare. I have not seen nor found the supposed sanctions that they intend to impose for non compliance and neither can I find information on how they intend to police it.
Daylight robbery
In 2014 the imposa di bollo on securities and deposit/bank accounts in Italy will continue at €34.20 per account. Great news I hear you say! Maybe, but then a new rate of IVAFE (the tax on overseas assets) has been announced of 0.2% on the amount (at 31st Dec) that will replace the previous 0.15% in 2013.
Minimum reporting threshold for funds held abroad
If last year was the year for confusion about how to report assets held abroad then, at least, in 2014 they are offering some further clarity.
As of 2014, there will no longer be any minimum threshold when reporting assets held abroad. Previously, any amount below €10000 was not expected to be reported, but from 2014 all amounts, no matter how large or small, will be expected to be reported on the RW form as of 31st December.
Those are the main points that will be affecting you in the years to come. Certainly for anyone with any financial assets the increased bollo is a blow. As always seems to be the case in Italy, at the moment, most of these taxes are self defeating in that they pull more money into the Government coffers and pull it away from the pocket of those who could spend it and create future economic growth. Incentives are being offered to business owners and start ups to stimulate business growth in Italy, but, honestly, at the current levels of taxation it is impossible to see why an entrepreneur would want to set up in Italy when the chances of success due to tax and red tape burden are so great.
The sad truth is that it is going on all over Europe to reduce National debt levels and will continue for some time to come. We will all have to swallow the bitter pill for the time being and just plan to be more effective and reduce tax liabilities where possible.