Pay your taxes without paying any money, but by volunteering for community work, from gardening in public parks to cleaning schools. This is the principle behind administrative bartering, a form of collaboration between citizens and local administration introduced by the Sblocca Italia decree and recently adopted by Milan and Bari. However, dozens of small Italian municipalities have led the way. The principle is to facilitate the "involuntary defaulters", i.e. those people - employees, small entrepreneurs, self-employed professionals - who have found themselves in situations of economic difficulty and have not been able to settle their debt with the municipal administrations both on the tax and on that of services. Here are some examples.
MILAN
In the capital of Milan, from 2016 the first tenders will be published to find candidates. Only citizens with an Isee income of less than 21 euros who demonstrate that they are in a condition of blameless default (but for debts prior to 2013 and of an amount not less than 1.500 euros), or that they have not paid the taxes for reasons details (e.g. job loss). The amount still to be paid must, of course, be related to municipal taxes (such as Imu, Tasi, Tari, fines, fees or rents of social housing).
BARI
The resolution for administrative bartering was also approved in Bari, where "we are drawing up a specific regulation - explained the mayor Antonio Decaro - which defines all the criteria with respect to the activities and services to be included in the list and the ways in which citizens can give their voluntary participation. The regulation will have to be approved by the City Council and cross reference with the budget for the financial year of the next years 2016-2018”.
AN EXAMPLE AMONG SMALL MUNICIPALITIES: MASSAROSA
The Municipality in the province of Lucca has offered a 50% discount on the Tari (the waste tax) in exchange for the whitewashing of the classrooms or the care of the flower beds. But there is not only Massarosa, in Puglia also Bitonto and Andria have moved. And the novelty promises to spread like wildfire because it is welcomed by the local communities.
