There is just over a month left before the second IMU installment on the first home expires and the question that most worries Italian taxpayers still remains unanswered: will we have to pay it or not? "Finding the resources is not easy", warned yesterday the number one of the Treasury, Fabrizio Saccomanni.
"The Government's commitment is not to make it pay", Gianpiero D'Alia, Minister for Public Administration and Simplification, specified today, underlining however that the problem of coverage is difficult to solve: "We need to intervene with further spending cuts and therefore everyone will have to take responsibility for identifying what the priorities are in this field. It is a complex job, which must be carried out with seriousness and without announcements that have no meaning. It is easy to make claims of principle, then you have to translate everything into concrete facts that have consequences".
Yes, the consequences. What would they be if we had to pay in the end? In all likelihood, we would end up paying about 100 euros more than we paid in 2012 for the entire tax. A paradoxical increase that would become reality if the Municipalities decided to increase the rates compared to two years ago. And they have until November 30 to do so.
In Milan, according to calculations by Corriere della Sera, the rate on the main residence has already gone from 0,4% in 2012 to 0,6%, the maximum permitted by law. In this case the average increase would be 100 euros, but of course this does not apply to all municipalities. In Bologna, for example, an increase from 0,4% to 0,5% was decided, which would lead to a reduction in the overall average expenditure from 468 to 404 euros.
How is it possible that the bill is so salty? The second installment of the IMU corresponds to the total due for the year minus the amount paid for the first installment. This year the advance has not been paid, but according to the provisions it had to be half of the amount paid last year and not 50% of the amount due for 2013, which was impossible to determine due to the lack of resolutions. Result: if the Municipalities decided to increase the rate, the amount due for 2013 would not be half of the entire tax, but a higher figure. Of course, unless the covers are found.
